


Cross Roads (Remastered)

by DarkMeb (StAtS6)



Category: 24 (TV), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-01-31 11:55:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 32,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18590770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StAtS6/pseuds/DarkMeb
Summary: 24 takes place before Season 3. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer takes place Season 2, sometime after "Lie To Me". The X-Files takes place in Season Five, sometime after "Bad Blood". Author's Note - This was written for Xander/Willow fans. This is also a Crossover of 24, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and The X-Files. Also note, this is a revised edition. The original story had other characters I created for the agents looking for the nuclear device. I decided to change them to the characters of 24...and then a lot of things had to change.What do Jack Bauer, Fox Mulder and Buffy Summers have in common? A new terrorist threat and a new dark prophecy with the Hellmouth of Sunnydale right in the middle of it.Disclaimer: The characters of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully belong to Chris Carter. All characters from Buffy, and familiar phrases and scenes belong to Joss. All characters from 24 belong to Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran.





	1. The Long Night

Los Angeles

 _"You never told me how you felt about Kim being in CTU,"_ said the voice through his ear piece as he kept his eyes focused on the street below him.

Jack Bauer let out a sigh of impatience. His mind was already focused on the task at hand, not on other matters that were currently beyond his control. Any minute now, two vehicles were going to show up and their only lead to a missing nuclear device would be in reach. He and Tony Almeida had a team of seven CTU agents with them and the location was ripe for an ambush. Talking about his daughter on the line where others would hear was not sitting right with Bauer. In fact, it pissed him off. He made a promise to let Almeida know exactly how he felt about it when the job was done.

As he looked through the scope of his Marine Scout Sniper Rifle, he simply said, "All teams in position. They're coming."

In the night, it wasn't hard to pick out two sets of vehicles moving toward the warehouses the CTU agents were using as cover. The vehicles had their high beams on as they traveled along the deserted road that badly needed repair. The vehicles bounced along toward their destination. Looking through the scope and focusing on the first vehicle from his high vantage point, Bauer clearly saw the drivers face. The man was agitated and cursing angrily about the conditions of the road.

"Chloe..." Bauer said, watching the scene below him from the corner of the rooftop.

There was a sigh in his ear, followed by Chloe O' Brian's impatient voice. _"Yeah?"_

"Are we online?"

From CTU's central command, Chloe was helping the computer technicians fight the war on terrorism using technology. _"I can see you, Jack,"_ she replied, trying to keep her impatience to a bare minimum, which for her was very hard to do. _"The satellite feed is on location directly above you, giving us your exact position. We can see everything. We're triangulating every frequency we can, but there are no nuclear devices in either one of those vehicles."_

That wasn't what Bauer wanted to hear. "Are you sure?"

_"Jack, when you point a gun at a terrorist, do I ask you if you know how to pull the trigger? I know what I'm doing."_

Bauer glared at the approaching vehicles. If there wasn't a device in them, then they needed one or two of the terrorists alive for questioning. He looked into the scope and lined up his target. The vehicles were getting closer. Soon, they would be right where he wanted them to be.

The wait wasn't long. As soon as the two vehicles were beyond the point of no return, Bauer gave the signal. The signal was simple. He pulled the trigger.

The bullet covered the space between his position and his target in a heartbeat. It sailed through the windshield of the first vehicle and through the drivers forehead. Blood and brain matter sprayed out the back of his head and all control of the van was gone. It kept moving forward, but now there was no one to turn the steering wheel. The passenger was yelling, but his life abruptly ended when a second shot from Bauer's rifle took him out. The van crashed into the wall of the warehouse across the alley from his location.

The second vehicle seconds later collided right into the van. Two shots from Almeida's sniper rifle had taken out the driver and passenger in the front. With both vehicles down, the CTU agents on the ground immediately converged on them. The doors of the first vehicle wouldn't open from the inside. They had been jammed from the crash. Three men, however, piled out of the second vehicle with weapons of their own.

Most terrorists used only one method of attack. They simply came out screaming bloody murder at the top of their lungs as they opened fire. With no other choice, the CTU agents returned fire and three terrorists abruptly fell to the ground. One of them fell back against the van, sliding down to the ground as he left a trail of blood on the van. His hand gripped his weapon in a tight death grip, which caused it to continue firing until it clicked empty.

Then, there was silence.

By the time Bauer and Almeida were on the ground, they had joined the other agents who had the two crashed vehicles surrounded.

"We think there's two or three trapped in the van," one of the men told Bauer softly. "We can hear movement and -"

Suddenly, from within the van, there were two gunshots.

 _"No!"_ Bauer exclaimed. "Open it up, dammit! Get them out of there!"

The agents moved. They forced the doors open and found two men inside. One of them had used a gun on his companion before he turned the gun on himself. The message was loud and clear. The only lead to the nuclear device died in that van.

 _"Son-of-a-bitch!"_ Bauer shouted. He took a deep breath and punched the side of the van. "We've lost it!"

Suddenly, the man who had been shot coughed.

"Get that man some help," Bauer demanded. _"Now!"_

The agents moved quickly. They brought the man out and laid him on the ground under the street lights so they could see what kind of damage he had taken. To their surprise, he had been shot in the shoulder. The man who had shot him had been a good shot when it came to taking his own life, but he should have made sure his companion was dead.

Bauer pushed one of the agents aside and glared down at the remaining terrorist. "Where is the device?"

The terrorist looked up at him. Then, he spit at Bauer. It was a bad play because it was hard to spit at someone from the ground when they were standing over you.

"Jack, we'll get the information," Almeida said, "but we need to take him to CTU now."

Bauer ignored him. He placed his foot on the mans wound and pressed down with all his weight. "Where's the device?" he demanded once more.

The man cried out in pain. The pressure was so intense, that he began to cry out words just in the hopes that the pain would stop.

"Kidnap...Rosenberg...Boca del Infierno...sunny days..." Then, he passed out.

Bauer frowned.

Almeida shook his head. "Way to go, Jack. That really told us everything we need to know about where the device is." He waved the man away, and the other agents loaded him into a unit to have him taken to CTU. "All I got out of it is that someone named Rosenberg is going to be kidnapped, but the rest...didn't make any sense. Boca del Infierno...sunny days? What the hell does any of that even mean?"

Bauer paused. "Boca del Infierno is Spanish." He was thinking of a time when he had gone undercover. "I'm not sure of the full translation...and I have no idea what the significance means other than what a nuclear device will unleash...but I believe he said, 'the mouth of hell.'"

"Really? The mouth of hell? And sunny days?"

"Not sunny days. He may have said that...but I think he might have meant Sunnydale." Bauer paused. He straightened and turned to look at Almeida. "You wanted to know how I felt about Kim being in CTU? I don't like it at all. I don't want her to face this kind of shit every day of her life."

Almeida was surprised by the sudden change of their conversation. "She's on the tech team, Jack. She's not a field agent. She'll be safe at CTU doing her job."

"If there's one thing I've learned about being in CTU, Tony, it's that you either come out into the field or the field comes to you." He glared at him. "Teri knew a Rosenberg and Kim as a little girl had gotten to call this Rosenberg her aunt. This Rosenberg at the time lived in a place called Sunnydale. If this is the same Rosenberg, then I may have to bring Kim in on this one...and if I have to do that, I'm not going to be happy about it one damned bit. And neither is anyone else before I'm through."

† † †

Lone Gunmen Publications  
  
Washington DC

Fox Mulder stood in front of the thick, heavy door and pressed the buzzer repeatedly. As he did, he grinned up at the security camera mounted to the wall in the corner above the door. Although the buzzer had only one monotonous tone, Mulder then proceeded an attempt at playing the theme of Hawaii 5 - 0 on it.

 _"Okay, that's enough of that,"_ came an irritated voice from a speaker next to the camera. _"The buzzer isn't out there for your entertainment, Jack-O! So back off."_ Then, there was a brief pause. _"Oh. It's you."_

Mulder looked up at the camera. "Are you gonna open the door, Langly, or should I find something else to play? I understand you're partial to the Brady Bunch. Let me try that one."

Mulder proceeded to press out a Brady Bunch theme with the buzzer.

The door swung open and Richard Langly appeared in the doorway of the residence of the Lone Gunmen. He agitatedly slapped Mulder's hand away from the buzzer. "What, are you crazy? You of all people should know that the Brady Bunch was designed to brainwash innocent people into living the dream of the American life…by becoming zombie's so that the government could begin taking full control of their lives! You can't play that kind of stuff here, man!"

"Wow...And they call me paranoid." Mulder stepped inside as Langly closed the door, muttering about the inaccuracies of the American dream as portrayed by the Brady's.

John Fitzgerald Byers and Melvin Frohike were at a table, papers and gadgets spread out before them. "You're early, Mulder," Byers said. "We didn't expect you for at least another hour."

Mulder shrugged as he approached the table. "I got bored so I booked a flight. I leave in half an hour."

"Half an hour?" Langly exclaimed. "You really think you're going to make it in time? The airport is at least fifty miles from here. You'd have to break every traffic law to get there, but even then, you'd never make it."

"I'm not going to the airport. I kind of used my badge and reserved a ride under the impression that I was using the helicopter for FBI purposes."

"Mulder! You're a part of the establishment, man! You're becoming one of them!"

Frohike was curious. "What FBI business did you give the pilot?"

Mulder couldn't help but grin. "Well...I actually told him that I would set up a date between him and Scully."

Frohike frowned. "Langly's right. You are a part of the establishment. And you should be ashamed using Scully like that."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

"How is she not going to know when you have to set the pilot up on a date with her, Mulder? She's going to find out."

Mulder grinned at him. "Are you getting jealous, old man?"

"You bet, I am. Scully can do better than a pilot that works for the government. Uncle Sam wouldn't give us a curfew."

"Look, don't worry about it. I'm sure she thinks only of you. But let's get to why I'm really here."

Byers nodded knowingly. "You're looking for something to do on your vacation and you were hoping that we would point you in the right direction."

"Like you need our help," Frohike snorted. "Your conspiracy theories are crazier than ours. What are you taking a vacation for anyway? I thought you hated those."

Mulder shrugged as he leaned against the table. He began to look through a stack of Lone Gunmen papers. "I like to find answers and most of those answers can only be found while I'm on the job. But Skinner gave me two options. Take a short vacation...or take a permanent one. I chose the first option." He paused. "Maybe I need this. Maybe I just need to step back and do something else that doesn't have to do with little green men or conspiracies. So what have you got that I can look into without getting into too much trouble?"

"Sightings of Big Blue are on the rise again at Huevelman's Lake in Georgia," Byers told him. "That would be a different pace for you."

Mulder shook his head. "Been there. Done that. In fact, that's the place where Scully's little yapper got eaten by a man-eating croc. And while we were there, we didn't see any sign of Big Blue."

Frohike shook his head. "Poor little yapper."

"You know," Langly began, turning to Mulder, "there is a medical facility that specializes in breast implants. We believe that the gelatinous goo the doctors use on their patients in the implants are some kind of alien residue, and --"

Byers shook his head. "Langly, for the last time. There is absolutely no evidence about any alien body parts being used for breast implants. They're not using any alien DNA for what you're suggesting, and women who have successfully had these implants are not turning into aliens."

"Oh, I see. You can believe in something like the alien Black Oil that gets dumped all over you so that it can enter into you and take your body over, but my theory about the alien breast implants is too preposterous? Have you ever been at a Star Trek convention and one of your favorite characters from the show starts talking about his experiences when one of those implants falls out onto the floor? Do you know how traumatic that can be? I saw it! That thing quivered on the floor like it was alive, so how can you tell me there isn't any alien DNA in those things? That's just wrong, man!"

Frohike rolled his eyes. "We were there, Langly. As I recall, you screamed like a little girl just before you passed out."

"I'm telling ya, those things are alive!"

Mulder shook his head and chuckled. "Well, Langly, I gotta tell you...I'm going to have to pass on that one. Byers...didn't you have something on a place called Sunnydale?"

Byers nodded. "Oh, yeah. The Hellmouth. The place in Sunnydale where there is strong evidence of a mystical convergence. This Hellmouth is said to be a portal to Hell itself and if it is opened, it will release the demons from within to bring the earth to destruction. It's a myth, but for a myth, there's a lot of activity centered around it. Some people claim that Sunnydale is a nest of vampires and demons." He went to a file cabinet as he talked and began to search for one of their articles on the subject. When he found what he was looking for, he handed it to Mulder. "This article has everything we found out about the place during our investigation, including something about a Slayer. I think you'll find it interesting, Mulder, but I have to tell you. Sunnydale doesn't sound like a safe place for a vacation."

"If I wanted safe," Mulder replied, "I'd go visit that medical facility with Langly."

"Now that was totally uncalled for," Langly snapped.

Mulder just grinned.

"If that isn't what you're looking for, we have a ton of places that -"

Mulder interrupted Byers with a shake of his head. "No. It's Sunnydale. I'm going to Sunnydale. You mind if I take this?" He held up the article Byers had handed him.

Byers nodded. "Take it. We have plenty of copies."

"Don't we always?" Langly complained.

Mulder nodded and headed for the door. "Thank you, gentlemen. Langly, my advice to you is to stay away from conventions. Which actor did it fall from anyway?"

Langly snorted. "I'm not telling you!"

Frohike shook his head. "Poor guy. He was traumatized, Mulder. He doesn't remember."

"I was not traumatized! Don't you get it? That freaking thing was still moving!"

Mulder couldn't help it. He laughed as he left the Lone Gunmen and got into his car. He drove to the FBI Building, parked in the garage and made his way up to the rooftop. He climbed into the waiting helicopter and once he was under way, he read the article. He was extremely fascinated by what he read.

He took out his cell phone and speed-dialed a number. "Scully, it's me..."

† † †

The Sunnyside Psychiatric Institute

Just out side of Sunnydale

They called it the Lunatic Fringe, but the actual name for the hospital was the Sunnyside Psychiatric Institute. For years, the doors of this mental health institution had been closed due to lack of funds and unsafe conditions. It was more than 1600 years old and had its share of history. Hundreds of thousands of the criminally insane and staff members have passed away inside the institute over the years it had been in service. It was now believed to be a hot spot for paranormal activity. The buildings and the grounds themselves were said to have so much history that those who had died there could never rest.

Nowadays, the place was used for something else. Audrey Linde and her boy friend Bob Turney were just about to find out what that something else was as they ran up to the doors. Without stopping, they pushed them open and ran into the haunted institute. The truth of the matter was they had bigger things to be afraid of than ghosts. A few moments passed since they had run into the main building...and then they came.

Four vampires - one girl and three men - slowly walked toward the entrance of the institute. The doors were wide open and inviting.

They laughed among themselves because they had just forced the two promising victims to run right into their home. They had been living there - if one wanted to call it that - almost as long as some of the ghosts had. It was their home. They knew every square inch of it. And they knew that their soon to be dinner guests were going to find themselves completely lost.

They went inside...And moments after they were all out of sight, the doors closed all by themselves.

The halls were very dark. There was no power in the building at all and Bob and Audrey avoided areas where it was completely pitch black. Bob suddenly realized the mistake they had made in thinking that they could hide themselves in this place. He doubted they would find their way out before the vampires caught them. As it was, some of the halls they had begun to take proved to be a bad choice for them. They would hear laughter or taunts coming down from them and would have to turn back. Before long, another realization dawned on them.

They were being led.

All the running they did, Bob and Audrey finally kicked open a set of double doors and found themselves entering into a large room. They moved into the center of it as if they were moths drawn to a flame and they realized where they were. The room at one time had been an auditorium of some kind. It had been used for conferences and meetings regarding the institution. Candles had been arranged throughout the room, enabling them to see that they were in the center of the stage, or lecture area. The seats looked intimidating and Audrey squinted her eyes as she looked toward the last row of seats up at the top. She thought there were people up there, but feared it was only her imagination.

She wished the rest of this nightmare was only her imagination.

Laughter to her right told her that their night was just about to get worst. She turned her head and screamed. Two of the hulking male vampires slowly strolled in. One of them was growling as it leered at them. The other one hissed through it's teeth.

A set of doors opened on the other side of the auditorium and the other two vampires entered. The girl was skipping happily toward them, humming a melody to herself. The male vampire with her simply walked toward the soon-to-be dinner entree's as if there was all the time in the world. For them, there was.

"Stay away from us!" Bob exclaimed. He had picked up an old chair and smashed it onto the floor. Then, he picked up one of the legs of the chair, intending to use it as a club. He kept Audrey behind him, but he kept looking from one side to the other.

The tall male let out a laugh. "That isn't going to happen," he said. "You and your lovely girl have been invited to put on a show with us for the residents of this fine establishment." He dramatically waved a hand toward the chairs surrounding them. "If we were to stay away from you, we would deny this wonderful audience an entertaining evening."

"What are you talking about, you freak?!" Bob shouted, glancing up at the seats. "There's no one here."

"Ah, but there are. There are many many people who have lived here at one time or another...and they are still here today...watching. And waiting. And hoping for one hell of a show. Now seriously, how can we turn aside and deny them that which they have been waiting for?"

Audrey swallowed. She leaned toward Bob. "Th-they're not all ghosts, Bob. I...I see people...up there." She pointed.

Bob looked...and so did the vampires.

"Who the hell are you?!" the tall vampire shouted as he saw for himself that there were two people sitting in the back row.

A young girl and a young boy each sat with their feet propped up onto the seats in front of them. They had a bag in an empty seat next to them, which clearly had snacks. There was a bag of cheddar popcorn open in between them and they each had a bottle of water. The boy was taking candy from a box of Milk Duds when the vampire demanded to know who they were.

He waved at them, almost spilling the Milk Duds. "Oh, don't mind us. We're just here for the show. Please, just ignore us...Think of us as a part of the undead audience you were talking about and go on with the show."

"We heard you were really good," the girl said with a shrug. "Personally, I'm not impressed by what I see right now...but maybe you'll improve." She glanced at her friend. "What do you think, Xander?"

Xander Harris sat back and shook his head. "I can't understand how vampires who have been around for longer than we have still can't bring themselves to act before a live audience. If I was an agent, I wouldn't even hire them for a role in a Twilight flick."

Willow Rosenberg chuckled. "Yeah. I know what you mean. Boy, did that movie ever get it wrong."

The vampires looked at one another. They had momentarily forgotten about Bob and Audrey, who had begun to back away, hoping to slip around them to escape.

"Who do you think you are?" the girl vampire demanded. "I know of no human who would dare be so bold as to treat us as insignificant!"

"Well," Xander said after he took a swallow from his water bottle, "we're friends of someone who heard that there were a bunch of vampires living in a mental institute. And these vampires like to bring their victims into the auditorium so that they can put on this appearance of acting out a show. When our friend heard about this, she decided that she really did want to make a guest appearance."

"Who is this friend?"

Xander and Willow looked at each other knowingly.

Then, Willow said, "Her name is Buffy." Then, she added, "She's the vampire slayer."

Silence filled the room until it was broken by a loud slam that caused almost everyone to jump. Xander and Willow had been expecting it, so they hadn't been startled. All eyes, however, turned toward the source of the loud bang. The doors had been slammed shut, and standing there with her left hand on her hip and a stake in her right hand was Buffy Summers. Her feet were placed slightly apart. Her eyes took in the positions of the four vampires, marking them. At any second, she was ready to do what she came to do.

Slay vampires.

The vampires exchanged worried glances.

The girl vampire glared as she took several brave steps toward Buffy. "You're not so bad. If you were, you would have already slain Spike, and we know he's bad."

"If he's so bad, then why am I still here?" Buffy asked conversationally. "And really, who's to say that I haven't slain him yet because of a promise I made?"

"What promise?" she asked, taking another step.

"What if I promised to slay all of the other vampires in Sunnydale first before I took him out? What if I said I wanted him to be the last one so he could suffer in fear while I made him wait? But none of that really matters right now, because it won't compare to the promise I'm going to make to you."

The girl vampire glared at her. "What promise is that?"

Buffy leaned forward. "You're gonna be first."

The Slayer was standing there, but suddenly she wasn't. She flipped over onto her hands and shoved upward. When she came back down onto her feet, she was behind the girl vampire. She tapped her on the shoulder.

The vampire turned to face her.

Buffy smirked at her. "I always keep my promises." Then, she shoved the stake into the girls heart and turned her into dust.

Even before the dust fell, she spun around and her foot connected with the tall vampires jaw, sending him sprawling backwards. She found herself in between the two hulking brutes. They growled and rushed forward, not even giving themselves time to plan for an attack. That was the way with brutes. She let them come, and then jumped up. They were so intent on her that they didn't see each other until they collided. They fell on the floor, growling and angry. Buffy, however, was attacking the tall guy, She staked him through the heart before he could counter and then she turned to face the brutes.

They were both on their feet again and once more, without thinking, they simply charged her. Apparently, they only seemed to have one form of attack. Charge. That was fine with Buffy. She saw the ruins of a chair on the floor beside her and picked up two broken leg pieces. Once she put away her stake, she held a broken leg piece in each hand and waited. Bracing herself, she kept the leg pieces down at her sides. The brutes continued with their charge. They really thought they were going to hurt her, but she was the Slayer and she had great strength and fortitude to face them. Just as they came upon her, she swung the wooden leg pieces up and held her ground. The brutes crashed into her...or more accurately, they impaled themselves onto the wooden leg pieces.

One of them turned to dust.

"Oh, shit," Buffy cursed. She had missed the heart of the second brute.

Now, he was not only wounded, but he was angry. He yelled out some kind of a garbled war cry and picked Buffy up over his head. Then he threw her into the seats. Buffy crashed into the seats and cried out.

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed. "Look out!"

"Thanks, Will," Buffy said. "I got it." She mumbled something else under her breath but no one could make out what it was.

Gritting her teeth, Buffy got back on her feet. She looked down toward the staging area and couldn't believe what she saw. The brute was charging toward her again. He was literally ripping the seats apart, throwing them out of his way as he moved toward her. Buffy scowled. She pulled out her stake and decided to take this fight to the next level.

She yelled out a war cry herself and charged forward toward the brute.

Slayer and vampire collided and fought each other to the death. They entangled themselves and began rolling back toward the stage, literally falling over the seats in their epic struggle. When they finally reached the bottom, Buffy was straddling the brute. She raised her stake high and then slammed it down hard into the brute's chest. This time, she didn't miss.

By the time Xander and Willow made their way to her, she was sitting in a pile of dust.

"Well," she said as she got to her feet and dusted herself off, "that was fun."

"That was fun for us, too," Xander said as he helped Buffy up. "I mean, given a choice to watch you dust some evil dead or crack open a book on a bunch of numbers that spell MATH, it was a no brainer."

Buffy put her stake away as she looked around. "Where did that couple go?"

"I think they ran," Willow answered. "I don't know what scared them more. The vampires, or you tearing them a part." She looked at Buffy and hesitated. "Uhm, not that you're sacry, Buffy, 'cause you're not. I mean, to the vampires, you probably are...bu-but I don't really think you looked all that scary. I'm sure that nice couple probably weren't used to seeing something like that, but...you? Scary? Of course not!"

"Thanks for that, Willow...I think." Buffy headed for the doors. "Let's get out of here."

They headed for the hall way, talking about their latest adventure.

By the time they reached the exit, Xander said, "You know, I have to say that was a nice affect you added when you first entered the auditorium and faced the suckers."

Buffy glanced at him, stopping several feet away from the front doors. "What affect?"

"When you slammed the doors closed to get their attention."

"I didn't slam any doors. I just came in and, well, started fighting."

Xander and Willow exchanged looks.

"Buffy, if you didn't close the doors at the start of the fight," Willow began, "then who did?"

Buffy paused. "Well, they do say this place is haunted, but I've never seen a ghost. Have you? You can hear and see all kinds of unexplainable things and automatically think it was caused from a ghost, but it really could be just your imagination, couldn't it?"

As if in response, the double doors to the institute slowly creaked open and then a disembodied voice whispered harshly from the darkness, "Get out!"

Buffy, Willow and Xander decided it was best not to argue with something they couldn't see. They got out.

_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______


	2. 9:00 PM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The following events take place in Sunnydale, California...This has been the longest day of my life." --Jack Bauer

9:00 PM

The facility of the CTU Command Center was a constant buzz of activity. Tony led a team of agents into the halls of the building and headed for the CTU Medical unit. Behind him, and surrounded by agents, the surviving terrorist of a successful ambush lay in a stretcher. He was yelling out obscenities in his own language and complaining about the abuse of American agents upon foreign visitors.

As they were getting closer to the Medical unit, Michelle Dessler approached Tony. She glanced behind them from where they had come in and then took in the prisoner on the stretcher. Tony came to a stop beside Michelle and allowed the others to continue on their way without him. They knew the priority was to get the prisoner’s wound taken care of as quickly as possible and make him available for interrogation. He was almost glad that Jack hadn’t come in with them. The man would have discounted the medical care and gone straight for the interrogation.

“Michelle,” he began as he turned his attention on her, “has Chloe been able to come up with anything on the nuclear device?”

Michelle shook her head. “No. The device is completely off the grid. Where’s Jack? I thought he was going to head up the interrogation?”

“No. Jack is taking into full account what the terrorist told us at the warehouse district and following a lead based on presumption. He’s taking Kim with him.”

“Kim? He’s taking Kim out into the field? That’s not like him, Tony.” She frowned. “What did this guy tell you?”

“He seemed to indicate that a kidnapping was going to be taking place in Sunnydale…and then something about the mouth of hell. Really, Michelle, it made no sense to me, but when the name ‘Rosenberg’ was mentioned, that’s when Jack decided to follow this weak lead.” He shook his head. “I think the man was just talking to stop the pain, but…Jack feels there has to be something to it.”

“Why would he think that?”

“Because he and Kim know some Rosenberg’s in Sunnydale.” He turned and headed for his office. “Look, just give me a heads up when the interrogation is ready. I’m going to go see what we have on this guy in our files.”

Michelle returned to the Command Center and couldn’t help but wonder how Kim was going to respond out on the field.

_______ _______ _______

9:05

Jack hadn’t said two words since his daughter climbed into the SUV on the passenger side and he pulled out of the parking lot. Many people would take that as a sign not to rock the boar and allow the silence to remain. It wasn’t hard to feel the tension pouring out from Jack as he drove, his hard eyes on the road before them, but Kim decided that the silence was not good for her.

“Helloooooo,” she said with a wave. “Aren’t you at least going to say ’hi’? That would be the polite way to respond.”

Jack sighed and glanced at her. “Yeah. Sorry. I guess I have a lot on my mind.” He hesitated. “Hi.”

“I know that was hard for you, Dad., but, really…you’ve got to stop being so angry all the time.”

“I’m not angry.”

“You’re not?”

Jack shrugged. “No. I’m just pressed for time.”

“Pressed for time?”

“Okay, so I guess being pressed for time tends to make me a little cranky, but there’s a nuclear device out there somewhere. We don’t where it is. All we do know is that there is going to be a kidnapping attempt in Sunnydale. Somehow, it’s connected to the terrorists who have the device.”

“So…why am I coming? You weren’t exactly forthcoming when you called and told me to meet you out front.”

“I didn’t tell you?”

“No.” She looked at her father closely. When he didn’t say anything, she said, “Are you going to tell me any time soon why I’m going with you? I do recall you were very adamant about keeping me off the field until hell froze over, so what happened to change your mind?”

Jack paused. “The terrorist told us that the one who is going to be kidnapped in Sunnydale is Rosenberg.”

Kim stared at him. “Aunt Sheila and Uncle Ira? Willow? Wait…Are you telling me you think one of them is going to be kidnapped?”

“I don’t know, Kim. This is the only lead we have and we’re following it. That’s why it’s called a lead. I need you in case…in case any of the Rosenberg’s are in trouble.”

“Dad, they have first names. Why can’t you say them?”

“Kim…you and your mother have…” He stopped. Then, he tried again. “Had a relationship with these people. I’ve never even met them. They’re not even your real Aunt and Uncle. They were friends of Terri’s and…and they may be in trouble. That’s why you’re here.”

“I spent a few summers there with Mom, Dad. They may not be related by blood, but we were close. And for a while, I felt like I had a little sister.”

“Yeah. Well, so we know I’m not too sociable.”

“I think you’re sociable. You just don’t take any time off.” She pointed a finger at him. “Too many bad guys to shoot.”

“Let’s hope there are no bad guys to shoot when we get there. Let’s hope the Rosenberg’s are out of harms way and this is nothing but a dead end. With any luck, maybe Tony can get something from our guest.” He glanced at her. “Why don’t you give them a call and let them know we’re coming?”

Kim took her cell phone out of her purse. “What do I tell them?”

He shrugged. “Tell them anything.”

“Thanks, Dad. I’ll just tell them we’re coming to make sure that they’re not going to be kidnapped by terrorists.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

_______ _______ _______

9:12

At the Rosenberg residence in Sunnydale, the phone on the kitchen counter rang. It rang four times before the answering machine picked up.

 _“Hi. You have reached Ira, Sheila and Willow Rosenberg,”_ said a male voice. _“We’re not home or we just don’t want to answer the phone. Please leave your message after the beep.”_

The message ended.

Kim’s voice then came through the phone and into the recorder. _“Hi, Uncle Ira, Aunt Sheila…Hi, Willow! How’s my favorite sister?”_ There was a pause. _“Look, I know it’s late…my father and I need to come over to see you so we’re on our way and should be there in an hour. We’ll explain when we get there. Hope to see you soon. ‘Bye.”_

The call ended. And a shadow moved across the counter and was gone.

_______ _______ _______

9:15

LA International Airport was not the final destination for Mulder as he walked through the terminal to get his luggage. Almost six hours on a plane with a screaming child was enough to make anyone cranky. He decided that he would rather be on a plane full of snakes rather than one cranky child. He was tired and wanted to get his rental car from Enterprise so he could drive for an hour to his hotel. Somewhere in Sunnydale, there was a bed with his name on it.

He retrieved his luggage and headed for the car rental place, but on his way, he saw something in the window of a gift shop that he just had to have.

Sun Flower seeds.

_______ _______ _______

9:23

It was an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Sunnydale that had become the home of a dangerous man, his woman and their minions. The only thing they had in common with each other was that they were vampires. The notorious William the Bloody, or Spike as he was known nowadays, walked down a corridor with a the woman of his heart on his arm.

“Come along, luv,” he said to her soothingly, concerned with her sudden state of mind. She had begun to have periodic moments of outbursts that made no sense to him. “Daddy has arranged for you a nice little snack. I have them hanging from the ceiling in the basement, just waiting for you to sink your teeth into them.”

Drusilla walked beside him, and she patted his arm. “That’s lovely, dear. I am a little famished.”

Spike frowned. He heard what she said, but her eyes were not focused. They seemed to be staring at something he couldn’t see. It disturbed him greatly. “I’m glad you’re famished. Soon, you won’t be, luv. You’re going to enjoy this. I promise.” He led her down into the basement, encouraging her as he did. He continued to talk to her until they came to their destination.

Hanging from the rafters with chains shackled to their wrists were a young man and a young woman. Even as they approached, they both pleaded for their lives, but their plea’s might as well have fallen onto deaf ears. The three minions who had been watching over them only leered at them, purposefully showing their sharp teeth. As for Spike, he didn’t want to hear their plea’s. He wanted to hear their screams. He also wanted Drusilla to enjoy them.

“What did I tell you, luv?” Spike smiled at his mistress. He waved his hand at the helpless captives and glanced at them. “Do you like what you see or - What the bloody hell is this?!” He angrily strode toward the captives and pointed at the helpless woman. “Would one of you bleeding morons care to explain this?”

The morons exchanged glances. “Explain what?” one of them inquired innocently.

“Are you blind?” To show the minion what he was referring to, he grabbed a handful of the girl’s hair and yanked her head back. There was no way now to hide the bite mark and the blood on her neck. “Which one of you ninny’s had a taste?”

“Oh…” The minion looked at the other two. But none of them offered up an answer.

“These two Happy Meals were not for you,” Spike snapped. “One of you bit this girl --”

“It was just a taste. She’s still fresh.”

“Oh, it was just a taste, was it?” Spike replied sarcastically. “She’s still fresh, is she?” Suddenly he closed the distance between him and the minion and slammed him against the wall. A railroad spike was in his hand and he used it to jam it into the minion’s throat. With that done, Spike picked him up and threw him hard against the wall. The minion crashed to the floor and then lay there gagging as he tried to remove the spike.

Spike glared at the other two minions. “Get out of here or get the same thing.”

The two minions didn’t wait for anything else to happen. They were gone as fast as they could leave. While this had been happening, Drusilla had been watching the captives hanging by their wrists. Watching them…but seeing something else.

Spike took her by the hand and led her directly up to them. “I’m sorry about that, luv,” he said apologetically. “You just can’t get good help these days.”

The girl began to cry. The man shook his chains. “You’re a monster!”

“What the bloody hell is wrong with you? You don’t come into someone’s home by special invitation and start insulting the man of the house. Where are your manners?”

“You…you killed that man! He bit my girlfriend. What are you people?”

“I don’t care if this girl is your date or not, you git. She happens to be my girl’s dinner, as do you, too, by the way. And that moron who bit your girl isn’t dead. Look at him.” Spike moved closer when the man didn’t respond. “I said look at him!”

Filled with morbid curiosity, both the captive man and woman looked down at the minion on the floor. He was still moving. He had managed to get the spike out of his throat, but now he laid on his stomach with his hands on his throat. A gurgling sound omitted from him.

“He’s not dead…or more to the point, he isn‘t alive like you two nits are,” Spike told them. “In fact, that is what separates us from you. You see, we can cut you and make you bleed until your life comes to an end. But you can put a spike in our throats…and we will never die. This fool will suffer for a while because of what I did to him, but he will recover. Of course, if I had misjudged my aim and dislocated his head from his shoulders, well, that would have been another story altogether. Suffice it to say that he will make it and tomorrow, a little more uglier than he was before, he’ll go after fresh meat. You two, on the other hand…” He again grabbed the girl by her hair and pulled her head back. “…will spend all night screaming and when we’re done, there’ll be nothing left. Isn’t that right, luv?” When Drusilla didn’t respond, he turned to look at her. “Dru, darling…are you alright?”

Drusilla looked at him without really seeing him. “He’s coming,” she said softly.

Spike frowned. “Who’s coming?”

“He who walks with Death is coming, and he brings Wrath with him.”

_______ _______ _______

9:30

Their travel time was getting shorter because Jack had added a little more speed as he drove. It was enough speed to give Kim cause for concern, but when there had been no answer at the Rosenberg residence, Jack feared the worst. He suspected they were too late. He was certain that the terrorists had gotten to the Rosenberg’s first and had taken them away.

Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing that for certain until they got there. He did have something he could do.

He pulled out his cell phone and seed-dialed a number.

After two rings, a woman’s cranky voice said, _“What?”_

“Chloe, I need you to put me through to the local police department in Sunnydale,” he told her.

There was a sigh. _“What am I, your phone service?”_

“You can do it faster than I can. Besides, I’m driving and I don’t have time to play games with Verizon right now.”

 _“Yeah. Okay. Whatever.”_ There was another pause. _“You know, talking on your cell phone while driving is dangerous anyway. You could get into an accident.”_

“Chloe…”

 _“Okay.”_ There was a third pause. _“Okay. It’s ringing. I’ll patch you through. Next time, get Kim to do it. I’m still trying to find the device and I can’t do that if I keep getting interrupted.”_

“Fine, Chloe. Thank you.” He shook his head. Then, he was patched through and he heard the phone ringing. He glanced at Kim. “I’m going to have the local police drive by the Rosenberg’s house. Then, I’ll --”

 _“Sunnydale PD,”_ came a bored voice. _“Lieutenant Frank Burns. How can I help you?”_

Jack said, “Lt. Burns, my name is Jack Bauer. I’m with the CTU in Los Angeles. There may be a situation occurring in your city you need to be made aware of.”

 _“CTU?”_ Burns interrupted. _“What the hell is that?”_

“Counter Terrorist Unit. Lt. Burns, I have an urgent matter to discuss --”

_“I’ve never heard of that. Who is this again?”_

“I’m Special Agent Jack Bauer of CTU.”

_“Have you got a badge number or something I can use for verification?”_

Jack took a deep breath. Then he quoted his badge number.

There was a pause. Burns grunted. _“Okay. This looks legit if I’m reading this right. Never had much use for these damned computers, but I guess they’re good for something. Now, before you go off on your request, I’m here to tell you we don’t have any problems with terrorists. We have many other problems, but terrorism isn’t one of them. I’d like to keep it that way and so would Chief West.”_

“Well, I’m sorry to break it to you, Lieutenant, but if my intel is correct, then you could have terrorists in your city. That’s why I need a patrol to be sent to the Rosenberg place to check on them. Our sources tell us that someone in that family - or all three of them - are going to be kidnapped.”

_“By terrorists.”_

“Yes.”

_“Why would terrorists want to do that?”_

“I don’t know yet. Can you get somebody to drive to their place and have a look?”

_“And what are they looking for?”_

“Anything suspicious.”

_“Define suspicious.”_

Jack was trying hard not to lose his temper. “Could you just do it? We’re on our way, but we won’t be there for another twenty-five minutes or so. If you could just have them take a look and call me back, I’d appreciate it. Can you do that?”

_“Sure. Why not? I’ll get right on that for you, Special Agent Bauer. Is there anything else I can do for you?”_

“No.”

_“Fine. Then…I’ll see what I can do and call you back.”_

Jack closed his cell phone and put it away.

“That sounded like it didn’t go well,” Kim observed.

Jack sighed with frustration. “Yeah. The son-of-a-bitch sounded like I was wasting his time.” He glanced at his daughter. “Sorry.”

“We’ll get there, dad.”

“But will we get there in time?”

_______ _______ _______

9:37

“This really blows,” Xander said as he, Buffy and Willow walked down the street. “I mean, since when does a school night not blow? Wouldn’t it be okay if we just skipped school tomorrow? We could go find another place to visit so we could watch you do your thing. You know, that thing you do…with the thing.” He mimicked staking a vampire by bringing his fist down several times, slashing at the air.

“Xander, we can’t skip school,” Willow protested. “That would be wrong. And besides, I have a test in Math class, which I’m sure you do, too…since you’re in my Math class. So, no, no skipping.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying, can ya?”

Buffy grinned at him. “I think we can blame you because you don’t know how to quit. Always trying to get out of anything that has to do with earning a grade.”

Xander shrugged. “Oh, I don’t mind earning a grade. It’s all that other stuff that goes with it that I mind. Like studying and homework. And anything that has to do with numbers.”

“Xander,” Willow began, glancing at him with concern, “tell me you’re ready for the test tomorrow.”

Xander didn’t reply.

“Did you at least look at the notes I left you?”

“You left notes?”

“Xander!”

Buffy couldn’t help it. She laughed.

“This isn’t funny, Buffy. Hey, you’re having the same test, too. Are you ready for it?”

She held up her hands defensively. “I’ll be as ready as I can for it, Will. Trust me. I don’t like numbers either, because what do they have to do with vampires unless you have to keep track of how many you’ve dusted? Anyway, I’m not as bad as Xander. I’ll be ready for it.”

“What do you mean you’re not as bad as me?” Xander inquired. “You don’t even like to read.”

“I like to read.”

“The Firemen And Their Shiny Red Trucks Calendar doesn’t count.”

They arrived at Willow’s house and said their goodnights. Willow promised to see them in the morning at school and then she stood on her front step. She watched her two best friends as they headed down the street. Then, thinking of Xander and his math problems, she opened the door and went into her house.

_______ _______ _______

9:40

Mulder felt like he was getting his second wind back. He was in his rental car driving on the Interstate. In an hour, he hoped to be in his hotel room. As he drove, he snacked on Sunflower seeds and drank coffee. He had the window open so he could get more awake then he felt and the radio was blasting out a tune from the Beatles. He thought back to his conversation with Dana Scully on the phone before he was dropped off at the airport.

He had told Scully what he was up to, at least some of it. She was teaching a class for the FBI in Los Angeles so he didn’t think it would be a problem for her to meet him in Sunnydale. She had said no and hung up on him.

His cell phone rang.

He answered. “Rusty’s Morgue. You stab ‘em, we slab ‘em.”

Scully’s voice simply said, _“Mulder, I hate you.”_

Then, she ended the call.

Mulder grinned as he put his phone away. He knew that Scully would be meeting him at his hotel, even if she didn’t sound happy about it.

_______ _______ _______

9:42

A Sunnydale police car drove along the streets but the officers inside saw nothing suspicious. They drove by the Rosenberg house twice and noticed nothing wrong. They called it in to Lieutenant Burns who told them to go about their business. He had intended to call the CTU agent with what his officers found - which was nothing - and decided against it.

“That son-of-a-bitch has wasted enough of my time,” he growled as he placed his feet up on his desk and picked up his magazine. He made no move to reach for the phone.

_______ _______ _______

9:45

The house was quiet. Willow hated walking into a quiet house. After Buffy and Xander had walked her home and left, she stood in the living room with the closed door behind her. She listened to the sounds of the house, which should have been familiar, but there was something missing. She didn’t hear her Mom or her Dad. She didn’t hear their voices. She didn’t hear them moving around. She had been under another false assumption that her career-driven parents were going to be home when she came in.

Again, she was wrong.

It almost made her cry, but she was getting used to it. She stood there, took a few deep breaths and moved into the kitchen for something to eat. She went to the refrigerator, opened it and saw some left over spaghetti. She took it out and placed it on the counter. As she was getting a plate from the cupboard, she noticed the blinking light on the answering machine. She pressed play and continued to prepare her late supper.

A few of the calls on the machine were work related. Three for her father. Two for her mother. The last one was a surprise. It was from Kim Bauer. As Kim’s voice came over the machine, Willow turned from what she was doing and listened.

She hadn’t seen Kim in a long time. It had almost been two years when she went with her parents to Terri Bauer’s funeral. Kim had always been the older sister to her on the summers she and Terri had visited them. Willow had tried to be there for Kim during the funeral…but she was too young. And she couldn’t help. Kim had closed up.

Officially, they were not related. But they had been close…until after the funeral.

But now Kim had called and left a message. Kim and her father were on their way to her house. Willow wanted to hear the message again. She was about to press play again when a shadow fell upon her. With relief, she realized that her parents were home after all.

Smiling, she turned. “Mom! Dad! Kim is…” She stopped.

Neither her Mom nor her Dad were in the doorway of the kitchen. It was someone else.

_______ _______ _______

9:48

Jack was on the field so Tony decided to use Jack’s office until he returned. The office was directly above the Command Center and afforded a clear view of the staff hard at work. He sat at Jack’s computer and pulled up every pertinent detail involving the missing nuclear device and the man responsible for taking it. He pulled up the file and studied the face of the terrorist on his screen.

Darwyn Musad.

Darwyn Musad was the charismatic leader of the terrorist cell responsible for stealing a nuclear device. He was more well-known as _The Speaker_ , one of his many aliases. He was a former member of the Saudi Arabian National Guard. From 1987 to 1989, he fought the Soviets during the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. He later returned to Riyadh after he was wounded, and later fought in the Gulf War, on the Kuwait's side, along the American forces. After the war, he trained Mohamed Aidid's men in Somalia during the Somali Civil War. Following this, he fought alongside the Bosnian mujahideen in Bosnia, where he met and saved his right-hand man, Rueben Julius - a cold-blooded killer - and then fought alongside the Taliban in Afghanistan after he met Osama bin Laden. Later he ran an Afghan training camp for Al-Qaeda. In America, he worked in a security company as a Jewish man named Yossi Amran...and that led him to eventually get his hands onto a nuclear device.

He liked to be known as _The Speaker_ because he simply liked to talk. Whether it was the sound of his own voice or a play on the dramatics, he spoke to his victims before, and during their torture. He spoke to them until he executed them or had them executed. His right hand man was a mystery. There wasn’t much known about Julius before he had crossed paths with Musad. He was Italian but claimed to be a direct descendant to Augustus Caesar. One fact was known…he enjoyed taking lives with his bare hands.

There was a knock on the door and then it opened before Tony responded. Michelle entered and approached the desk.

“We have an ID on the man you brought in,” she told him.

Curious, Tony looked up at her. “Who is it?”

“His name is Youmud. Youmud Musad.” She paused. “It’s Darwyn’s younger brother.”

He sat up. “How soon will he be ready for interrogation?”

“It won’t be long now. About twenty minutes. They’re patching him up.”

Tony nodded. “Great. Maybe in twenty minutes, we can get some more answers.”

_______ _______ _______

9:52

“I really hate tests,” Xander said as he and Buffy stopped in front of the Harris house. “And tests kind of have a thing for me, you know? They know I’m going to fail, so eventually I do.”

Buffy shook her head. “Xander, with that kind of an attitude, you’re bound to fail.”

“Buffy, I’ve had this dream…”

“Yeah, I know. You on a cloud wearing a toga, surrounded by seven gorgeous women bound to your eternal love. I’ve heard this one before.”

Xander shook his head. “Not that dream…though that is my all time favorite.” He never told her that she was one of those gorgeous women in his dreams. He had to take a deep breath before proceeding. “In this other dream, which is not so very pleasant, I am on an island that looks suspiciously like an algebra book.”

Buffy rose her eyebrows. “This island is…a book?”

“Yes, and there are people on this booky island, but they’re numbers and they carry swords that look like pencils. They want me to become like them, but I can’t…so they tie me to a giant chalk eraser with giant rubber bands. Then, they are about to draw all aver me with their pencil-like swords…and that’s when I wake up.”

“And why are you telling me this?”

“Because I want you to go into math class for me and slay the teacher before it’s too late!”

“Xander, I can’t slay a teacher. Unless that teacher is a creature of the night, I have a strict hands-off policy against slaying living things.”

Xander sighed. “Well…I had to try.”

“Sorry. There’s no way you’re going to avoid that test tomorrow. Unless something sneaks up on either of us and stops us in our tracks, our fates are sealed.”

Xander nodded. He bowed his head and turned to go into his house. “Well…I’ll see you tomorrow. Willow’s gonna call, so I’d better get in there or she’ll think we’re doing something.”

Buffy nodded thoughtfully. When she realized what he had said, she frowned. “Wait! What will Willow think we’re doing if you miss her call?”

Xander didn’t respond. He was already inside. Sighing, Buffy determined to get an answer from him in the morning. She turned to go and walked right into…him. He didn’t budge as she walked into him. Instead, he calmly watched her as she backed up a step to face him. A lot of emotions crossed her face, but she finally got a hold of them and regained her composure.

“Angel…” she said.

Angel, who bore no expression on his face, looked into her eyes. “Buffy…” Then, before she could say anything, he said, “There’s a bad moon on the rise.”

_______ _______ _______

9:57

Sunnydale was a busy place. Vampires and other things that went bump in the night continued to terrorize the innocent, but some of them had gone into hiding as if they knew something was coming. On the major interstate, two vehicles were enroute to Sunnydale, one an FBI agent from Washington; the other two CTU agents from Los Angeles. Mulder drove at a normal speed which would place him at his hotel within the hour, or perhaps less. Jack, however, had increased his speed due to his agitation at the lack of cooperation from the local police. As Kim prayed for a safe journey and pressed herself into her seat, Jack pulled the SUV off the Interstate, entering into the city limits of Sunnydale.

As Buffy faced Angel and his cryptic message, Xander laid back on his bed, thinking about the math test. He turned his head once, glancing at the phone which never rang. He wondered if Willow had simply decided to go to bed, but it was not like her not to call.

Spike gave up on trying to get Drusilla to enjoy her treats. It bothered him that she kept seeing things that weren’t there and she was quite adamant that something wicked was coming this way.

Tony and Michelle were heading out of the office to check on their prisoner, Youmud Musad. Tony was hoping the interrogation was ready because there was a lot they needed to know if they were going to be any help to Jack and Kim.

Then, there was Willow. Bound hand and foot and gagged. She was draped over the massive shoulders of Rueben Julius, a terrorist. He stood beside Darwyn Musad, the Speaker, as they watched the bound forms of Ira and Sheila Rosenberg on the floor in the living room of the Rosenberg Residence.

“I thank you for your hospitality,” Musad said to the helpless parents of Willow. “You have been most helpful to what I seek and I assure you, you will no longer be allowed to suffer on this earth.” He looked at the two men across the room. “After Julius and I are gone with the girl…kill the parents. They are of no further use to us.”

With that, he turned and walked out the door. Julius followed after him, carrying Willow as if she were nothing but a feather. She groaned and struggled, but there was no way she could escape. Her eyes widened as she looked into the gagged faces of her parents one last time before she was out of the house, the door closing with a finality that scared her. As Willow was trying to process that she would never see her parents again, she was placed into a trunk. She stared up, trying to scream into her gag.

Julius’ leaned down toward her. “Welcome to hell, child,” he said.

Then, the trunk slammed shut, trapping her inside.

9:59:57

9:59:58

9:59:59

10:00 PM


	3. 10:00 PM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The following events take place in Sunnydale, California...This has been the longest day of my life." -Jack Bauer

**10:00 PM**

Willow was trapped inside the trunk of a car as she felt the motion of the vehicle pulling out of the driveway. She was terrified more for her parents than for herself. They were going to kill her parents and no one was going to stop them. She desperately wished Buffy was there to save the day...but she wasn't.

Buffy was in front of Xander's house on the sidewalk, facing a man she tried hard not to love. She and Angel regarded each other as if they were afraid they might break one another like china plates. As they faced one another, Xander laid back in his bed and listened to country music due to the troubles of the woes of women and the stress of math class. Other things were also on his mind. He turned his head and glanced over at his phone. Willow should have called him by now.

At CTU headquarters in downtown LA, Chloe was hard at work on the computer trying desperately to track down a stolen nuclear device, which was believed to be in the hands of terrorists. She hoped for no more interruptions because if there was one thing she could not tolerate, it was interruptions. Tony and Michelle were heading toward the interrogation room where Youmad Musad was handcuffed to a chair in spite of the wound in his shoulder, which had been patched up by medics.

Fox Mulder let out a yawn as he pulled off the exit of the interstate and drove into the city limits of Sunnydale. He began the search for his hotel where he had made arrangements for less than an hour ago. And although she hadn't said so, Mulder fully expected Scully to show up within the hour. He looked forward to his vacation, knowing that it was going to turn into a great time for him. He fully believed he deserved one.

At the Sunnydale PD, Lieutenant frank Burns had his feet up on his desk and the chair pushed back. His hat was tipped forward over his eyes, giving the impression that he was taking a little nap.

At the factory, Spike decided to snack on the Happy Meals himself because he was hungry and he was bothered by the way Druscilla was acting. He didn't know what was wrong with her. He wished she would snap out of it. She wasn't even interested in the helpless victims hanging from the basement ceiling. It pissed him off and so he savagely took out his rage on the couple he had kidnapped for Dru.

No one could fully comprehend the events that were just beginning to take shape in Sunnydale. Even Kim was clueless to the events. She had no idea what was happening. She was a Special Agent of the CTU, but she was out in the field for the first time with her father. Jack, however, was suspicious by nature and he had trained himself to always be ready for any eventuality. He stopped the car in front of the Rosenberg Residence and looked around the rural street. A car had pulled away and drove down the street as he and Kim had arrived. He had wanted to follow it, but instinct caused him to stop instead.

"Is this the house?" he asked, looking toward the residential home.

Kim glanced at him, and then at the house. "Yeah...this is where they live." Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw her father withdraw his gun and open his car door. "Dad! What are you doing?"

"Something's wrong," he said as he climbed out.

Kim got out on her side and hurried around the car to reach him. "Dad, I don't think they're going to take it kindly if you come to the door with the intent to shoot!"

His eyes were focused on the house, but he was annoyed with his daughter. "Stay behind me," he snapped, "and keep your head down!"

"But--"

"Kim, we don't have time for this shit! If you want to be out in the field, you have to trust your instincts or you could wind up with a bullet in your head...or worst. Now follow me or stay with the car." He said no more and advanced toward the house with his weapon at the ready. As he was heading up the driveway, Kim caught up with him with her own weapon reluctantly drawn.

She had never shot a soul with her weapon but knew how to use it. She had been trained well. Looking through the windows as they went up the driveway, she hoped she would not have to use it. As it turned out, she never fired a shot. Jack had come to the back door of the house and peered into the window. He saw two men standing over the Rosenberg's and they were prepared to kill them. Without hesitation, he snapped up his weapon and fired four shots in through the window. The terrorists inside both dropped to the floor.

Then, there was silence.

Kim swallowed. "Dad...?"

He held up a hand as he moved toward the door. "Stay here!" he snapped. He kicked the door open and darted quickly inside. Kim waited nervously outside, gripping her gun tightly. She kept it lowered toward the ground, praying desperately that she wouldn't have to use it. Then, she thought of the Rosenberg's and realized that if she had to, she would use it. If only to save their lives.

From inside, Jack exclaimed, "It's clear!"

Kim took that as a sign to head in. She saw two dead terrorists lying on the floor and her father was untying Ira Rosenberg. Kim hurriedly put her weapon away and approached Shiela to help her. As she was untying her, Shiela looked fearfully up at them with her eyes wide.

"They took her!" she exclaimed. "Those men took my daughter!"

_______ _______ _______

10:05

"Really?" Buffy inquired curiously. "You've been keeping your distance from me and the first thing you say to me when you finally show up is... _'there's a bad moon a-rising.'"_

Angel paused. "Actually...I said, _'There's a bad moon on the rise.'"_

"And what does that mean exactly?"

He regarded her closely and took a step toward her. "Can't you feel it?"

She took a step toward him, looking up into his eyes. "Feel what?"

He stopped and looked around. "Something feels...I don't know." He paused. "It feels kind of off."

She suddenly realized that he wasn't talking about the feelings they might have for one another but something else entirely. If it had been anyone else, she would have discounted it altogether. But this was Angel and if he felt like something was off...then something was way off. However, she still needed something more to go on. "What feels off?"

He sighed inn frustration. "I don't know...exactly."

She frowned in thought. "Spike up to his old tricks? Or maybe some new ones?"

He shook his head. "This isn't about Spike."

"Is the Master coming back from the great beyond?" She smiled teasingly at him.

"Buffy, that isn't even funny. He almost killed you."

"He _did_ kill me." She saw the look on his face and pursed her lips regretfully. "Sorry." She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Angel...what are you feeling...really?

"It's kind of hard to explain." He paused. "It's just a feeling. Like...of impending doom. You ever get those feelings?"

"Yep." she said with a nod. "Every time I get up and have to face another day of school."

He shook his head. "You know...sometimes I forget how young you really are."

"Oh?" She smiled at him. "I forget, too, that you are...really old." When she saw the look on his face, she raised up her hands as if in defense. "But you don't look it, Angel. You age really well."

He let out a chuckle. "I'm a vampire. Buffy. I don't age at all."

She paused. "Is this feeling like the one you had before the Harvest?"

He shook his head. "No." He hesitated. "It's worst. Something is happening...or it's going to. We have to find out what it is before it's too late."

She pursed her lips in thought. "Let's go see Giles. Maybe he has something to tell us."

Angel paused. "You go ahead. I'll catch up with you later."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to do what you do. I'm going to go out on a patrol and take a look around."

She looked at him, suddenly very concerned. "You really do have a feeling, don't you?"

"I do, Buffy," he said softly. "I feel like something's coming...and we may not be prepared enough to face it."

_______ _______ _______

10:12

Chloe scowled at her computer terminal as if it had just offended her. The nuclear device that was stolen from the security company by Yossi Amran - who was actually Darwyn Musad - had disappeared. There was no trace of it anywhere. It was believed that the gps system that was installed into the device to track it had been removed from those who now possessed it. Otherwise, she would have been able to find a location for it via satellite. There was now no longer any viable lead she could find to track down the stolen nuclear device.

So she had to improvise. Acting upon a lesson she had received from Jack, she decided to look for a connection. Yossi Amran...the security company known as SafeLite Industries...Cristopher Walker, the CEO of the company...a man who spelled Cristopher without the _h_. Wayne Jones, the man who ran security for SafeLite Industries.

Her fingers danced rapidly across the keyboard as she hunted for a connection. She easily accessed the companies mainframe and went directly into their files. What she was doing was illegal and if Tony or Michelle found out what she was doing, there was going to be trouble. Jack, she believed, would have been proud of her. She was, after all, trying to locate a nuclear device so there wasn't time to do things properly or by the book.

Chloe was on the hunt.

Meanwhile, Michelle and Tony were inside an observation room where they were able to watch their suspect through a two-way mirror. Tony stood in front of this mirror with his arms folded across his chest. He watched Youmud Musad intently. The man was handcuffed to a chair in front of a table. In spite of a wound to the shoulder - which medics had patched up - he hadn't moved a muscle since he was placed onto the chair. And his eyes never left the mirror. It was almost as if he could see Tony through the mirror, but that wasn't possible. And yet, it almost seemed to Tony that they were making eye contact. He found that to be a disturbing thought.

"Tony...what are you doing?" Michelle asked as she came to stand beside him. "I thought time was of the essence here. Jack is out in the field relying on us to give him information."

Tony kept his eyes on the man in the interrogation room. "Don't worry about it. I'm making him sweat. Giving him time to think about his options."

Michelle frowned. "It doesn't look to me as if he's in there sweating about his options."

He turned to look at her. "He's in there trying to get us to believe that he's in control. He's not. His time is numbered and he knows it." He headed for the door. "But you're right. It's time to get some answers." He opened the door and stepped into the interrogation room.

As the door closed behind him, Michelle stood by the two-way mirror and looked into the room. To her surprise, Youmud was now focusing his gaze into her eyes, even though in the room, he was looking at a mirror. He should not have been able to see her. But she was certain that somehow, he could see her. And somehow, he was inside her head.

 _Michelle..._ a voice whispered inside her head. _You are mine...and you will do as I say..._

Michelle found to her horror that she could not move. She stood as if frozen to the spot, her eyes locked on to the terrorist in the room with Tony.

Tony had no idea what he was dealing with. He looked calmly at Youmud as he stood on the other side of the table. The two men seemed to regard each other with nothing more than curiosity. Neither one of them showed any hostility toward the other even though they were on the opposite sides of the law.

Youmud suddenly smiled. "I want to thank you for patching up my wound. My shoulder feels...so much better. In fact, it feels quite healed."

Tony sat down. "I understand the bullet went clean through. Your man was a poor shot."

Youmud shrugged. "It is hard to find good help these days, as my brother would tell you."

"Where is your brother? I'd like to have a few words with him."

"And he would like to have a few words with you, I am quite sure."

"From what I know about the Speaker, he would like to have a few words with anyone who would listen to him." He looked across the table at the terrorist. "Why don't you tell me what he has to say?"

Youmud let out a deep chuckle. "Oh, no, my friend. I cannot do that. You see, I am not a speaker. I am a mere soldier. What I do...is far different from what my brother does."

"But your brother does have a nuclear device."

"Oh, he does indeed."

Tony hesitated, surprised by the admission.

Youmud smiled again. "Why should I pretend otherwise? You already know this to be true."

"Where is your brother?" Tony asked again.

"That...I cannot tell you."

"Why not?"

Youmud regarded Tony with a wry smile. Suddenly, he changed the subject. "You have a very strong mind."

Tony frowned at him. "Thanks, but changing the subject will not change anything for you. You're a statistic right now. Your brothers will never see you again. You're going to disappear into a hole in the ground and will most likely never see the light of day again. We have deep, dark prisons without guards. Once you're inside...you might as well be dead." He leaned forward. "But if you cooperate, I may be able to help you. At least I could see to it that you're placed into a prison where you won't be alone."

Youmud laughed. "I do not fear your prisons." He tilted his head back. "But...I will cooperate as much as I am able to."

In the observation room, Michelle was still standing where Tony had been before he had gone into the interrogation room. She couldn't move. She stood frozen on the spot, staring in wide-eyed horror into the eyes of Youmud Musad. It was as if he had somehow crawled into her head and taken complete control of her. She couldn't do anything. She was filled with terror like she had never known. Somehow, he had branded her as his own and she knew it.

The door from the control room opened and Chloe suddenly stood in the doorway. "Michelle, I need to see Tony right away."

Michelle remained frozen, her eyes locked onto the terrorist on the other side of the two-way mirror.

Chloe frowned. "Michelle, I said I need to see Tony. I may have found something." She noticed the other woman's rigid stance. "Are you having a seizure or something? You don't look right."

Inside Michelle's voice, a command was given. _Get rid of her._

Slowly, Michelle turned her head. "Get...out...of...here."

Chloe frowned in disapproval. "I have something for Tony, Michelle. A connection. You need to tell him about it now."

"Get out of here!" Michelle snapped, her eyes wide, her body tense. "Now!"

Chloe sighed. "All right! Look, if your panties are in such a bunch, you need to change them. And take a chill pill, why don't you? Geesh!" She left the room and slammed the door shut behind her.

Chloe stood outside the room and wondered what Michelle's problem was. She had information that needed to be shared with the man in charge at CTU in Jack's absence. Well, if she couldn't tell Tony...she would have to tell Jack. She went down the hall to make sure no one was near her. She turned a corner, looked around and took out her cell phone. She made a very important call.

_______ _______ _______

10:15

"What do these people want with my daughter?" Shiela asked for what seemed to be the hundredth time. She couldn't understand why terrorists have taken Willow away at gun point. "I know a lot of strange things happen in this town. You live here long enough, you see some odd things. But...men...with guns?"

"I'm sorry, Aunt Shiela." Kim told her, trying to offer reassurance, "but we'll find Willow and bring her home. I promise you that."

From the doorway of the kitchen, Jack - who had been talking to Ira - turned to give his daughter a hard, stern look.

Kim frowned at him.

Jack turned back to Ira. "I don't think it's safe for you and your wife to remain in Sunnydale," he said. "You need to leave town...just for a while."

Ira sighed in frustration. "We're staying right here. Why the hell should we leave town? They took our daughter. What does that have to do with us staying in Sunnydale where we belong?"

"They may come back."

"Let them. The police will be here soon and if they come back, you and they can deal with them. You can make them give us back our daughter."

"It's not that simple."

"What do you mean, it's not that simple? You've done this kind of thing before, haven't you? Surely you've had some successful missions. Teri told us you were one of the best agents in the field."

At the mention of his deceased wife's name, Jack hesitated. He spent a long time trying to put his guilt for her murder behind him...but he couldn't do it. It was easy to blame Nina Myers but the truth was, he was guilty of it as if he had pulled the trigger himself.

Ira saw his face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"No," Jack said hoarsely. "Forget it. Look...we will do everything we can to get your daughter back to you...but you have to know. There may be a possibility that the terrorists who took her may take her life."

Shiela paled. "I-I don't even want to hear that. You bring her back to us! Don't you let them hurt my little girl!"

Ira went to his wife to try to console her as Kim moved toward her father. Jack walked into the other room. Kim followed. "Dad..."

He suddenly turned on her. "You can't give these people promises you are not capable of keeping, Kim."

"I was trying to give them hope. You were taking it away from them by telling them--"

"The truth," he snapped. "I was telling them the truth. We're dealing with terrorists, Kim, and terrorists keep their own set of rules that make no room for no one else. They will kill her. It's what they do. If we do not find them before her use to them is over, they will kill her." Suddenly, his phone rang. "Watch for Sunnydale's finest," he told her. "I've got to take this call."

Kim knew he didn't actually think the police of Sunnydale was the finest of anything. She went back into the kitchen as Jack answered his cell phone. He had seen who the caller was on the ID.

"Chloe..." he said.

 _"Jack,"_ Chloe responded over the phone, and then she got right to business. _"I found a connection."_

He looked out the window, wondering where the hell the police were. Time was running out and he didn't have time to babysit the Rosenberg's. "What have you got?"

_"Before Darwyn Musad became Yossi Amran, he worked briefly with Wayne Jones."_

Jack frowned. "Wayne Jones? The head of security for SafeLite Industries?"

_"That is the only Wayne Jones I'm talking about. They did some contract work together for an independent security firm. Most of their work was overseas. I don't have it yet, but from what I can tell, I believe it may have been a cover fot Jones to get Musad weapons."_

"What kind of weapons?"

_"Guns, grenades and high-grade explosives. If this is true, then--"_

"Then, Jones helped Musad into SafeLite Industries. They were working together." He paused in thought. "Did you get this information to Tony? He needs to run it down. I'm in a situation right now and I can't leave Sunnydale until I find the device."

Chloe sighed loudly. _"Do you really think it's there? In Sunnydale?"_

"It's starting to look that way."

_"Well...Tony is interrogating the other Musad and Michelle doesn't want him to be disturbed."_

Jack frowned. "Doesn't want him to be disturbed? Chloe, you have vital information that could help us with the mission. Tony needs it. And you need to get it to him."

_"I tried. She got all psycho on me and told me to get out."_

He let out a sigh of his own. "Look, Chloe, I can't do anything there to help you, but you need to get in there and tell Tony what you found. Michelle should know it's important enough to interrupt the interrogation."

 _"Okay! Okay! I'm on it. But if she turns all psycho on me again, I'm going to do something about it."_ She ended the connection on her end.

Jack put his phone away and impatiently looked out the window. Suddenly, the phone in the kitchen began to ring. He headed for the kitchen and stopped Ira from answering the phone. Then, they just let it ring.

"I should get that, Jack," Ira insisted. "It could be Willow!"

Jack shook his head. "It isn't your daughter."

Kim gave him a look but didn't say anything.

Jack let it ring a few more times, and then he picked it up. "Hello...?"

_______ _______ _______

10:17

Xander laid back on his bed and listened to country music. He often listened to it when he was rejected by women - which was on a regular basis - bored to tears or worried. The truth of the matter was he experienced all three of those setbacks almost every second of every day. With one exception...

He turned his head and glanced at the clock on the stand beside his bed. The big numbers on the digital display boasted 10:17. His eyes then took in the phone behind the clock. It hadn't rung since he had been home. That was unusual.

Willow always called him. It was something he counted on every night because it was something that always happened every night since they were kids. It was a part of his routine. It was something that was a part of their friendship.

On this night...there had been no call.

She was late.

Xander sat up and snatched up the phone. He dialed Willow's number and waited. The wait turned out to be a long one, or at least it felt that way to him. It rang for a long time. Just when he had listened long enough and was about to hang up, he finally got a response.

It was a man's voice. _"Hello...?"_

Xander frowned. He didn't recognize the voice, but he knew it wasn't Willow's father.

 _"Hello?"_ the voice inquired again. _"Who is this?"_

That was what Xander wanted to know. Instead of saying anything, he hung up the phone, sat on his bed and stared at the phone. He let out a sigh, worried about Willow. _Why hadn't she called? Why hadn't she answered? Who was the mystery man in her home who answered the phone?_

"Fuck this," he said under his breath.

He got up and left his basement bedroom through the cellar door. It was time to find out what was going on.

_______ _______ _______

10:18

For more than twenty minutes, Frank Burns was at his desk at the Sunnydale PD with his feet up and his chair tilted back. He was sound asleep as if there wasn't a single crime in his fair city. His hat was shading his eyes and he snored softly. He had a tough job keeping the city safe so he felt entitled to a nap every now and then. He didn't care at all about a federal agent coming to visit Sunnydale with some ridiculous notion of trouble coming their way.

That was a hoot.

And so he slept. Soundly. In fact, he slept so soundly, he didn't notice the door as it swung open. A tall, bald, black man strode purposefully in. He was in a sharp-looking suit and tie and wore dark sunglasses in spite of the hour. He stopped in front of the desk and regarded the police lieutenant with no expression on his face. Behind him, a second man entered, also in a suit and tie. And he was very self confident.

He stood beside the black man and shook his head. Then, he smiled. "Well, this is what tax payers in Sunnydale are really paying for with their hard earned money."

The black man smiled as he watched the sleeping police lieutenant. "The man has quite the racket going for himself. He gets paid for doing absolutely nothing." He casually reached over and shoved the officer's legs off from the desk.

Frank's legs hit the floor and he woke up with a start. Surprised, he sat up quickly as he realized he had visitors. Very important visitors. He rose hastily to his feet. "Ma-Mayor Wilkins!" he exclaimed.

Mayor Richard Wilkins smiled warmly. "Frank." He regarded the man coolly. "Good morning to you. I'm terribly sorry, but I didn't mean to wake you."

"Oh, I...I was only resting my-my eyes."

The Mayor grinned at Mr. Trick. "Of course, you were. I understand you have a very difficult job, Frank. You know I won't begrudge you for a little nap or two. After all, your services are outstanding. You do keep the peace, and I for one am very grateful for that."

Frank just looked at him, but he kept silent. He didn't know what to say anyway. He was a police officer of the law, but in Sunnydale, his job was to primarily keep the public from knowing about the darker side of the city. He knew all about it. In fact, in his mind, the darkest side of Sunnydale was Mayor Wilkins.

"I'm not here to talk about what you do in your office, Frank. I'm here because of preparation."

Frank looked from Mr. Tricks to Mayor Wilkins, puzzled. "Preparation, sir?"

The Mayor nodded patiently. "Yes. Preparation. I know it's a big word, Frank, but you should know what it means to me." He regarded the man. "You do know what preparation is, don't you, Frank?"

"Yes, sir, I...I know what it is." However, he still looked confused. He didn't know what the Mayor was getting at and he knew he should know.

The Mayor realized the man wasn't getting it, but he was confident that her would come to understand completely in time. So he continued on as if Frank Burns was on the same page as he and Mr. Trick were. "Good, good. I'm glad to hear you know all about preparation. Because if you didn't, I would have to explain to you that preparation is all about timing. Preparation leads to readiness. And being ready for what is to come _is_ the ultimate goal. If we're not ready, our chances of success are _not_ in our favor." He paused for affect. "Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

Frank swallowed. His eyes widened in sudden understanding. "The Ascension," he said softly, fear in his voice.

"The Ascension," the Mayor said with a nod, offering confirmation. "And we all know how very important it is for the Ascension to happen. Don't we?"

Mr. Trick focused on the officer of the law. "Tell him, Frank."

Frank nodded nervously, eager to fix whatever wrong he did. "Yes, Mr. Mayor, sir. I know how important it is. I would never do anything to jeopardize the Ascension."

The Mayor smiled at him. "Well, I for one am very pleased to hear you say that. It means a lot to me, Frank. Doesn't it, Mr. Trick?"

The black man nodded as he kept his eyes on Frank. "Uh huh. It sure do, sair."

Frank was terrified he had done something wrong. "Mayor, sir...I don't understand. The Ascension isn't for another year. Have I done something to stop your Ascension?"

"Do you think you've done something to stop it, Frank?" the Mayor inquired.

"I..." Frank stopped. Finally, he shrugged helplessly. "I...I don't know, sir."

The Mayor nodded once. "Well, Frank...I have to be careful with every single thing that happens in this fair city of ours, don't I?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Nothing gets past me, Frank. You know that. I have eyes and ears every where. Believe it or not, I even have eyes and ears in the future. I've had fortune tellers and witches peek ahead to tell me what's coming. They're a lot like the news casters on television who report about the weather. Sometimes they hit the mark...and sometimes they miss, but I've been able to glean a few things from their insight and some of those things are vital to the success of my Ascension. For instance, I know there are key players who will be involved in it. People who need to be around for this to happen."

"Like Willow Rosenberg," Trick replied.

"Yes. Like Willow Rosenberg...and some of her school buddies. The Slayer, for example. They all have a part to play in it. I don't know how. I don't know all of the particulars, mind you, but I do know they're very important to the Ascension in some way. So I'm sure you can understand my concern when I learn about a kidnapping that has occurred here in our neighborhood less than an hour ago."

Frank's jaw dropped. "A kidnapping? I'm sorry, Mayor, I wasn't aware of any kidnapping."

"Of course, you weren't. How could you possibly know about a kidnapping while you're here in your office taking a nap from all your hard work?"

Frank swallowed again. He had to ask. "Who was kidnapped, sir?"

"Willow Rosenberg."

Frank blinked. "Rosenberg!" He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. "Aw, hell. I was on the phone earlier with some federal agent who told me to send a patrol out to the Rosenberg residence."

The Mayor straightened. "Really? And I trust you did send out a patrol." He already knew the answer.

"Yes, I did, sir, but they reported back to me. They said there was no suspicious activity."

"They were wrong."

Frank sighed. "Oh, shit, sir...I'm sorry. I...I didn't give the agent any credit to what he was saying. I thought he was just barking up the wrong tree."

"Willow Rosenberg is important to the Ascension," Trick said through gritted teeth. "The Mayor wants you to do your job."

Frank swallowed and nodded fiercely. "Of course, Mr. Trick. Mayor...I will do everything I can to get Willow home safely."

The Mayor smiled. "I know you will. That means you will go over to the Rosenbergs and you _will_ extend your full cooperation to this federal agent. He's there now. I don't care if he wants you to wipe his ass, Frank. You'll do what he asks of you, You will offer the full support of this police department. In fact, you and your men are completely at his disposal until Willow is returned safely to her home."

"Of course, sir."

The Mayor stepped closer. "Of course...you can't allow him to discover the darker secrets of Sunnydale. Am I understood?"

Frank swallowed again. His throat was so dry. "Yes, sir. I understand."

He smiled. "Good. Then, I suggest you go out there and do your job. Sunnydale needs you, Frank." He winked. "Don't let us down."

Frank promised he wouldn't let him down, grabbed his gunbelt and hurried out of his office.

The Mayor turned to Mr. Trick. "I feel safer already. Don't you?"

Trick only smiled.

_______ _______ _______

10:21

It was dark and Special Agent Fox Mulder of the FBI couldn't think of anything better to do then to lean against his rental car and toss sunflower seeds one by one into his mouth. His rental was parked in the parking lot of a Motel 6 and he was content to stay where he was with his thoughts and his seeds. He had already placed his bags into his room and taken the liberty of booking the room across the hall from his.

After it was all said and done, all he had to do at the moment was wait.

Waiting was something he had learned to excel in. With his reputation as the FBI's most spookiest agent, waiting was in his nature. It had to be in his line of work. Yet being an agent of the FBI did have a lot of major setbacks. Most of those setbacks were caused by the higher officials of the government who used ordinary people like puppets to do their evil deeds. To carry out their plans of domination. To keep the masses blind from the truth they should be able to see just by opening up their eyes. The truth was out there, Mulder had always believed that...but no one wanted the truth.

He did.

Mulder was on a forced vacation - he accepted that - so he didn't really give a rats dirty behind about what his superiors thought. He was going to spend his vacation the way he wanted to and he couldn't think of any better place to spend it than at the most mystical spot on earth...Sunnydale, California. He silently thanked the Lone Gunmen for pointing him in this direction.

As he popped another seed into his mouth, he saw a car pulling into the empty parking space next to his rental. He smiled. His vacation was just about to officially begin.

A woman with red hair turned off the car and climbed out of it only to regard him from over the rooftop of the vehicle with deep suspicion. "Mulder, this had better be good. Unlike some people, I have work to do."

"C'mon, Scully. Take a break." Mulder smiled at her as he took in a breath of fresh air. "It's a beautiful night. The air is fresh here in Sunnydale, don't you think? It's like heaven." He rose his eyebrows. "Except it's actually a bit closer to hell than heaven, but you didn't hear that from me." He winked at her as if he had a secret he wanted to share.

Scully looked at him closely. "All right, Mulder. Now I know something's wrong. You used the words _beautiful_ and _heaven_ in a sentence. That's out of character, even for you." She walked around the car to approach him. "By the way, AD Skinner has high hopes that you'll work out some of your issues while on vacation and before you return to work."

Mulder frowned. "Issues? I don't have any issues, Scully."

Scully frowned at him in disbelief."

"What?" he persisted. "I haven't broken any rules or government taboos lately, have I?"

She let out a sigh. "Mulder, why did you drag me out here?"

"I didn't drag you out here, Scully. I just saw you get out of your car of your own free will." He chuckled. "Maybe you wanted to be here, Scully. Maybe you want to be dragged. You want me to get rough with ya, little lady? Maybe deep down inside of you, there's a cowgirl who wants to get out into the world and experience true life on the range."

Scully rose her eyebrows and looked at him as if he were an alien himself. "A _cowgirl_ , Mulder?" She scowled. _"Mulder!"_

He chuckled again. "All right! All right. Maybe not a cowgirl." He grinned and pointed up at the Motel 6 sign at the end of the parking lot. "Look, Scully. They left the light on for us. And don't worry about your accommodations." He handed her a key card he had taken from his pocket. "You're across the hall from me. Try to keep the noise down, will you?" He looked beneath the sign and noticed three individuals that seemed to be watching them from the shadows.

Scully had not noticed them. "Mulder, what exactly are you doing in Sunnydale on your vacation?" She regarded him suspiciously. "Please tell me this isn't about aliens, or alien abductees, or circus freaks, because to be honest, I've just about had it up to here with little green men and sideshow mutants! They're either just too elusive or too hideous and we can't even catch a glimpse of the aliens you say are out there." She leaned toward him. "I'm really not in the mood for any of that, Mulder."

He shook his head. "No, Scully. It's not about aliens or freaks."

"Then, what?"

He paused for affect. "Have you ever heard about the Hellmouth, Scully?"

She looked at him incredulous. "The _what_ mouth?"

He grinned at her. He couldn't help it. "The...Hellmouth."

Scully shook her head in amazement. Finally, she gave in and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm going to regret this, Mulder, but I'll bite. What is the Hellmouth?"

"Look at that! You just made a pun!"

"Mulder!" she scolded impatiently.

He held up his hands in defense. "All right! All right!" He paused, still grinning. Then he began to speak to her in strictest of confidences...as if no one else was supposed to know what he was about to reveal. "A few years ago, the Lone Gunmen wrote an article about a dimensional doorway, which literally leads straight into hell itself. It is said that every form of demon imaginable - and unimaginable - lives on the other side of that doorway, just waiting for a chance to enter into our world to wreak unholy havoc upon the earth."

 _"Unholy havoc,"_ Scully repeated. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"That's right. And with a Hellmouth, there are those who want to do evil to their fellow man. Not just because they were cut off in traffic, or because they purchased a bad cup of coffee at their local java shop, but because they are in fact evil in and of themselves. They thrive on the pain of others and so they seek out the Hellmouth in the hopes of finding a way to open it, thereby releasing the demons from the other side."

"Mulder...I'm surprised at you."

He looked at her curiously. "Why?"

"Because what you're saying sounds a little too much like religious indoctrination."

"Scully, you've read the Bible."

"I have...I don't ever recall reading anywhere in the Bible about a Hellmouth."

"The Book of Revelations is about the end of the world. It talks about how demons will walk on the earth in the last days. They'll be riding horses, _'having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone...And the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions...And out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. By these were the third of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.'_ " He leaned toward her and smiled, looking her in the eye. _"Oh, he that hath ears, let him hear."_

She rolled her eyes. "Mulder, some of what is written in the Bible is meant as parables."

"That's true, Scully, but there are many who would say to you that a great percentage of what has been written has already come to pass."

Scully regarded him. "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

He nodded as he looked back toward the sign. The three individuals were still there.

"I've never heard you talk about the Bible like this before." She paused in thought. Then, she frowned. "Wait a minute! You think there's a Hallmouth here...in Sunnydale?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Mulder, I can't believe you! You dragged me out here on some wild hunch that there's a doorway to hell somewhere in this town?"

"There you go again, fantasizing about being dragged," Mulder said with a chuckle. He reached into the open window of his rental and pulled out a large bag.

Scully looked at the bag. Then, she looked at him suspiciously. "Mulder...what is in the bag?"

"Sunflower seeds." He looked toward the Motel 6 sign.

Scully looked, too.

The three individuals finally decided to make a move. They were moving toward them.

"What's going on, Mulder?" Scully asked, suddenly concerned.

"Do you notice anything peculiar about these three dudes making their way toward us, Scully?" Mulder asked her.

Scully studied them as they made their approach. She frowned. She couldn't be certain, but something looked very wrong with their faces. "What's wrong with them?"

"Nothing. Maybe they just want a snack." He opened the bag of sunflower seeds. "Maybe they think we're something awful tasty. If our names were Jim, I wonder if they would think of us as Slim Jim's."

Scully shot him a look. "What are you talking about?"

As the men drew closer, she became convinced these men had either walked away from a terrible accident, or...they were truly the walking dead. "Mulder...are those fangs?" She stared, reaching for her gun.

Mulder shook his head. "That isn't going to stop them, Scully."

"And Sunflower seeds will?" she asked incredulous.

As the three men approached, Mulder tossed the seeds up into the air. The men stopped as the seeds rained down upon them. For a moment, they looked confused and troubled. It was clear to Mulder, however, that his hunch had been right. They were vampires.

 _Would Scully see that,_ he wondered, _or rationalize it away?_

Scully stared at him. "That's going to stop them, Mulder? Are you crazy?!"

Mulder nodded and grinned, but he kept his eyes on the three vampires. They were looking down at the ground at the spilled sunflower seeds around them. One of them bent down and picked up a seed. He stood up, looked at it, and then he showed it to the others. Then, they all turned to look at Mulder and they growled as if they had been offended. His grin faded.

Mukder and Scully took a step back.

"What were you thinking?" Scully asked him, her gun leveled at the three vampires. They were advancing forward again.

Mulder shook his head in dismay. "I don't get it! It worked on the pizza delivery vampire!"

"Vampires?!" Scully let out a sigh of frustration. "Not vampires again, Mulder! I mean, come on! The truth is out there...but it doesn't have anything to do with vampires!"

Suddenly, they abruptly stopped their advance toward the special agents.

Mulder and Scully stopped backing up. Mulder saw someone standing beneath the Motel 6 sign. Whoever the newcomer was, he was watching them all intently. The vampires even seemed to resent his presence as they glared angrily at the newcomer. The man began to walk toward them and as he did, the vampires backed off until finally, they disappeared into the night.

Scully leveled her gun at the newcomer and demanded, "Stop right there! Federal agents!"

The man stopped. He didn't seem bothered by a gun aimed in his direction. He looked down and noticed he was standing in a pile of sunflower seeds. He turned to Mulder with a puzzled look on his face. "What's with the sunflower seeds?"

Mulder moved around Scully and placed a hand on her arm, causing her to lower her weapon. "Vampires are obsessive compulsive. They can't stand disorder of any kind, so when you throw something like seeds at them, they have to stop and pick them all up."

The stranger regarded him as if he had lost his mind. "I wouldn't believe everything you read about vampires. Whatever you're using as research, find something else."

"Who are you?"

"A friend."

"A friend?" Scully asked. "Why do you think we need a friend? And who were those men? What was wrong with them?"

The friend glanced at Mulder. Then, he turned to Scully. "Your partner seems to know who they are."

"Listen to me. I'm a doctor. They looked ill. I might be able to help them." She paused. "Someone has to get them to the hospital."

"You can't help them. No one can."

"Why not?"

Mulder looked at her. "Scully, those men were already dead."

She sighed. "Mulder, they looked alive and well to me." She frowned. "Well...all right, maybe not well, but..." She trailed off.

Mulder turned to the stranger. "You really know what goes on here in Sunnydale, don't you?"

"What do you think is going on here?" the man asked.

"Why did they run from you? Are you one of them?"

The man regarded him for a moment. "Who are you?"

Mulder glanced at Scully. "Show him your badge."

Scully looked at him for a moment, debating on whether to continue on with this madness or get back to her car and leave. Finally, she took out her badge, flipped it open and showed it to the friend. "I'm Special Agent Dana Scully. This is Special Agent Fox Mulder." She put her badge away. "Now...who are you?"

Before the man answered the question, he again turned to Mulder. "Where's your badge?"

Mulder grinned. "Well...I am on vacation. I didn't pack it."

The man nodded as if that answered everything. "Okay...my name is Angel. And I do have one more question for you." He paused as he regarded the two agents. "What is it exactly that makes you special?"

Scully was about to respond when Mulder continued with his questions. "Are you one of them, Angel? Is there something special about you?"

Angel looked at him. "I don't know what brought you to Sunnydale...Just be careful. Maybe take your vacation somewhere else..." He looked at Scully. "...and you should probably go back to your office. Really. You don't want to be here." With that, he turned and began to walk away. He started to cross the street.

Mulder called out to him. "Hey! Wait!"

He was about to try to cross the street, but a car drove by at that moment, and he was forced to step back onto the curb. Scully was by his side. When the car had drove past them, they looked across the street.

Scully frowned. "Mulder...where is he?"

They looked around, but Angel was nowhere in sight.

Mulder turned his head and discovered that Scully was looking at him. He smiled at her. "Welcome to Sunnydale, Scully."

_______ _______ _______

10:28

Jack had Kim searching through Willow's bedroom to determine why she had been targeted by terrorists. None of it made any sense. She was just a teenager. _What could they possibly want with her?_ Willow's parents were beside themselves with worry and Jack was afraid he was wasting time. As much as he wanted the kid to be returned unharmed, his first priority was finding the nuclear device. He wondered how many more deaths would he be responsible for as he tracked it down.

He had to get out of there. But first he needed information.

Car lights flashed into the window as a car pulled into the driveway. It parked and as Jack looked out the window , a police officer climbed out. The man headed for the front door and Jack decided to meet him there. He opened it.

Frank stood on the porch as Jack stepped out of the house. "You must be Special Agent Bauer."

Jack nodded. "That's right. Frank Burns?"

Frank nodded.

"Did you even bother to send a patrol when I asked you to?"

"I did. They reported nothing suspicious."

"That was because they did a driveby."

"Look, we had absolutely no reason to suspect any foul play," Frank said, defending his actions, or lack thereof. "If you think I dropped the ball and want to pin the blame on me, then fine. So be it. I'm here now and I am offering you the full support of my department. In fact, this is straight from the Mayor's office. You have his support as well. Anything you need to find Willow Rosenberg is at your disposal."

Jack looked at him in surprise. "Thank you."

"So...tell me what it is you need."

As they both entered into the house, Jack said, "I need some of your men to stay here with the Rosenberg's until this is over."

Frank nodded. "I'll get right on that."

"They need to understand who they're dealing with. The men who kidnapped the girl are terrorists and they do not respond to negotiations. If the terrorists come back here for any reason, your men need to respond with lethal force."

"They'll be armed for it, I assure you. Wouldn't it be better to move the Rosenberg's somewhere else? To a safehouse perhaps?"

"If you can convince them to move out, then do it. I've tried to talk to them and they refuse to listen. My daughter has also tried and any way you look at it, they aren't budging."

Frank looked at him curiously. "Your...daughter?"

"Yes. Her name is Kim and she's also an agent."

Frank frowned at him. "I don't mean to pry or cause waves, Agent Bauer, but isn't having your daughter on the field with you a conflict of sorts?" The look Jack gave him made him regret prying into the man's personal life.

Jack glared at him, but he took a deep breath and paused to gather a response. Finally, he nodded once. "Yes. This is a conflict, one I would have rather avoided...but I needed her here because she knows the Rosenberg's. Better than I do. She and her mother..." He hesitated. "They were close to this family. Me? I hardly know them."

Frank nodded in understanding. "Being a Federal Agent probably doesn't allow much for family life, does it?"

Jack shrugged. "Not really." He decided it was time to get back to the case at hand. "I have Kim looking through the girl's room. Maybe she'll find something. It doesn't make sense for the terrorists to kidnap her."

Frank filed the information he learned about Jack's daughter away for another time. Perhaps he could make use of it later if the need arose. "What else do you need?"

"I need a complete map of Sunnydale. I don't know where the terrorists are going or why they're here, but there has to be places around here where they can g underground. An old factory maybe."

"There certainly are a few of them around. Quire a few, in fact, and some of them are abandoned."

"Then, that's what I need to look for."

"What...just you and your...partner? You think you're going to check these places out on your own? You told me these guys you're after are terrorists. Seems to me your chances of finding them are better off with more men."

Jack shook his head. "No. I can move quicker on my own, but when I find them, I'll need backup. If they see a lot of us coming, they're going to move an I can't risk losing them. " He paused as he regarded the police lieutenant . Since the man had agreed to help in every way, he decided he was going to be honest with him...to a point. "They have a nuclear device with them. I don't know what their target is...but that has to be our top priority."

"A nuclear device you say?" Frank whistled. "No shit."

Jack paused again. "Listen...does _the hellmouth_ have any meaning to you?"

Frank hesitated. "The hellmouth? No," he lied. "What the hell is a hellmouth?"

Jack let out a sigh of frustration. "I have no idea. We managed to catch one of the terrorists alive earlier tonight. It was something he told me, but he may have been...under duress and I really have no idea if that is what he actually said in the first place."

"Well, I can't help you there, but let me get started on the other things you needed. I'll get some of my beast men to stay here with the Rosenberg's and I'll get you some recent maps of Sunnydale." He clapped Jack on the shoulder as if they were partners. "We'll get those son-of-a-bitches, Jack. We'll show these bastards that they came into the wrong town."

Jack liked the man's attitude. "I have no doubt of it," he agreed.

_______ _______ _______

10:30

Across the street from the residence of the Rosenberg's, a young man kept to the shadows. His eyes took in everything. He had seen the police lieutenant arrive on the scene. He had seen the man go onto the porch and meet with a federal agent at the door. He had heard some of their conversation until they had gone inside, closing the door behind them. In that brief period of time, he learned three things.

The first - the police lieutenant's name was Frank Burns.

The second - the federal agent's name was Jack Bauer.

The third - Willow Rosenberg had been kidnapped.

When he had arrived on the scene, he had managed to circle the house and investigate the outside of it. He had discovered two terrorists had been shot and killed by the one called Bauer. The agent had saved the lives of the Rosenberg's...but Willow had been taken.

He clenched his hands into fists tightly. Xander swallowed back a burst of rage and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was calmer. It was as if he were somebody else. He remained in the shadows and decided to see if there was anything else he could learn about what had happened in his best friends home.

But when he learned everything he needed to, he intended to do something about it.

_______ _______ _______

10:35

Buffy had gone to the library at Sunnydale High to seek out Rupert Giles, the Librarian/Watcher. Her Watcher. Giles, however, was not there. She used the phone at the library to call him at his home, but there was no answer. Undeterred, she decided to check his home anyway, just in case he was home but unable to answer the phone. For whatever reason.

By the time she arrived at Giles' front door, she felt a little put out. On her way to Giles' home, she had walked right into three vampires as she was turning a corner. They were actually easy to take care of because the first one literally tripped and fell right onto the stake she was about to thrust into him. The second one just stood there, shocked by the sight of one of his friends turning into dust right before his eyes. By the time he got around to making any kind of response, it was too late. Buffy had staked him. The third one literally screamed like a girl and took off running down the street.

The reason Buffy felt so put out was that they didn't even pit up a fight. She felt cheated and very disappointed.

She rang the doorbell and waited. Nobody came to the door so she rang it again. Finally, with her patience running out, she let out a heavy sigh and knocked on the door. "Giles!" she exclaimed. "Are you in there?"

The door opened and Giles peeked out from behind it. His hair was a little rumpled as he peered out at her through his glasses. He looked suddenly baffled. "Bu-Buffy?" He frowned. "What on earth are you doing here?"

She gave him a look. "I looked for you at the library. I thought you'd be looking into one of your books on monster lore or fairy hunting." She frowned at him. "Were you sleeping?"

"Er...no. No, I wasn't sleeping."

"Are you going to open the door and let me in?"

He sighed, but he didn't open the door."Er...Buffy...I...uhm…" Finally, he said, "Just tell me why you're here so I can get back to doing...whatever it was I was doing."

"I got another wonderful cryptic message from Angel," she said. "Something about a bad moon rising." She paused. "What were you doing?"

Giles completely ignored the inquiry. "What-what exactly did Angel say?"

She frowned. " _'There's a bad moon on the rise.'_ "

He paused. "Credence Clearwater Revival."

"What?"

He shook his head. "Er...no-nothing. That's all he said to you?"

"Yeah...and that he had a feeling of dread or something. Like he felt like something wicked this way is coming."

"Did he say that?"

"Well, no...I said that. I mean he told me he has a feeling something's going to happen...like he had before the Harvest. I added the part about the something wicked." She looked at him curiously. "Does that mean anything to you?"

"No. No, I ca-can't say that it does." He let out another sigh. "From experience, we cannot ignore what Angel is saying. If-if he thinks something is coming, then...then we'd better look into it. Unfortunately, there really isn't much to go on so I have no idea what to even look for." He turned his head to look at her. "Gather the others, Buffy. We'll meet in the library."

Buffy frowned. "Gather the others? Does that mean...the Queen of B, too?"

"If you mean Cordelia Chase...then yes."

"She doesn't really contribute anything."

"She can go and fetch the snacks you're so fond of enjoying while...researching."

Buffy tilted her head. "Well...it's kind of hard to do research on an empty stomach. Especially when we don't know what it is we're researching."

"Just-just get everybody and-and we'll meet at the library."

"When?"

He looked at her. "As soon as possible. I'll be on-on my way shortly."

She nodded. "Great." She paused. "So...what were you doing?"

He scowled at her. "I-I hardly think that's any of your business." He closed the door before she could say another word.

Buffy found herself looking at the door. "Okay. Need a life much?" She spun around and walked away.

_______ _______ _______

10:40

Spike came out of the basement covered in blood and none of it was his. The Unhappy Meals he had arranged to get for Dru had become his. It wasn't that he didn't want to participate in the feast with Dru because he did. But he had wanted her to enjoy them as well and when she didn't show any interest in them at all, he became upset. He became angry. And then he tortured the meals before he finished them off. Their screams had been like music to his ears. Their blood was as sweet as life itself.

Blood was the life. That's why it was so sweet to the taste for vampires and evil things. It was pure. And it was so damned good.

Spike stood at the top of the stairs with his vampire face on. With the tip of his tongue, he tasted more of the victim's blood that was on his lips. He tilted his head back, feeling the life's blood on his face. He laughed.

Then, he shrugged his shoulders and went to seek out Dru.

She was in one of the old offices on the second floor. He stood in the doorway and watched her as she gazed up at the moon. He was about to call to her when he realized she was saying something. He couldn't hear what it was. He softly stepped toward her...straining to hear...and finally he caught the words she spoke.

"He who was but is no more...He who is will rise once more..."

She kept repeating that softly to herself over and over again. Spike frowned as he tried to make sense of it, his face reverting back into its human form. When he couldn't understand its meaning, he gave up and left her alone with her morbid thoughts and visions. Dalton was working on getting details for a very important ritual but Spike decided that maybe the bookworm could also handle another project. If Dru saw something coming, Spike wanted to be ready for it.

_______ _______ _______

10:42

Michelle was rooted to the spot as images of horror filled her mind. Inside the interrogation room, Youmud Musad sat across the table from Tony but he was also in her mind, showing her horrible things. She had never known such fear. Her eyes were wide as she stared in horror at him from the observation room. He seemed to be looking right at her in the two-way mirror. _How could this be?_ Michelle wanted to scream. _What kind of monster is this?!_

But she couldn't scream. She couldn't say a word...unless he allowed it. She was completely under his control. And there was nothing she could do about it.

The door opened and Chloe returned with a determination.

 _Take care of this, pet,_ said the voice in Michelle's head.

Abruptly, Michelle turned, tilted her head and smiled at the other woman. "Chloe...what can I help you with?"

Chloe looked at her as if she had two heads. "You were freaking out when I came in here earlier. I have information that Tony needs. Jack said I need to give it to him." She shook her head. "It can't wait, Michelle."

Michelle took a step closer. "Of course, Chloe. I'm...terribly sorry I took my frustration out on you. It's just that...well, this is a very important mission and it has all of us on edge." She looked into her eyes. "You can understand that, can't you?"

"No, not really. You didn't have to bite my head off."

"I am sorry about that." She took a deep breath. "Look, just tell me what you found out. I'll give it to Tony when he comes out. I promise."

"Jack said to get this information to Tony now."

Michelle nodded once. "And he will get it. But if we interrupt him now, he may lose any momentum he may have over the terrorist."

Chloe sighed. "That kind of makes sense."

Michelle smiled. "Of course, it does."

Chloe seemed to give it some thought, but she still wasn't happy with the way Michelle had been treating her. "There's a connection with Darwyn Musad and the head of security for SafeLite Industries."

Michelle nodded patiently. "Yes. We know. Musad was Yossi Amran when he worked for the company. We already know about that."

"No," she snapped impatiently. "I'm talking about before Musad was Amran. He and Jones had a connection. They knew each other." She gave Michelle a look. "That's what you need to tell Tony."

"Okay. I will." She smiled sweetly. "I promise."

Chloe thought she looked like some kind of mannequin with a forced smile and a _doe in the headlights_ kind of look. She shook her head in disgust. "Good. You'd better. I shouldn't have to do everything around here, you know."

Michelle nodded.

Chloe gave her one more look, then she rolled her eyes as she left the room. Like a puppet on a string, Michelle abruptly returned to the two-way mirror to stare in horror at her master.

Inside the interrogation room, Tony shook his head as he regarded the man across the table from him. "So you're telling me that this attack you've been planning...is more than just a religious statement."

"Yes," Youmud said with a smile.

"And the key people involved are from your cell...and SafeLite Industries." He sounded doubtful.

Youmud leaned forward as far as the handcuffs would allow. "Yes."

"Why should I believe any of this? You know we're going to look into it and find nothing there."

"I know you will look into it...but you will find the connection."

Tony paused in thought, going over in his mind what the terrorist had been telling him. He didn't think any of it was true...but if it was, then there was more at stake then just one simple target for a nuclear device. "Why Sunnydale?" he finally asked. "What is so unique about making Sunnydale a target? There are no government facilities located there. No military bases. It's just a small city with no great significance. Why make it a target?"

Youmud grinned. "It will unleash hell upon the earth."

Tony looked at him. He shook his head and got to his feet. "I think you're just wasting my time. You're feeding me a line of bullshit and I don't like it."

"I have kept nothing from you. I have told you all!" He shrugged helplessly. "I have nothing to gain by lying to you."

"Sure, you do. You're trying to set up a smoke screen to keep us guessing at what your real endgame is. We'll find out. We just have to go about it differently now that we know you aren't cooperating with us." He turned around to leave, but when his eye caught the mirror, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. "What the hell...?"

He could clearly see in the mirror his own image, the table and the two chairs at the table...but Youmud was not there. There was no reflection of Youmud in the mirror. Slowly, Tony turned around...and suddenly, Youmud was right there in front of him, fangs growing within seconds as he opened his mouth.

Youmud picked Tony up as if he were a ragdoll and tossed him across the room. Tony hit the wall hard and fell to the floor. Youmud stood there and watched him. The agent did not get back up.

The door opened and Michelle appeared in the doorway. "Tony..." she said weakly.

"Do you care for him, my pet?" Youmud asked softly.

Stunned by these horrible turn of events, she could only nod weakly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"To show you I can be merciful, I will spare his life this one time." Youmud suddenly had her in his arms and he pulled her head back so he could see her lovely throat, pulsating with blood. He opened his mouth and stared down at her as every ounce of resistance was drawn from her. He sniffed her bare throat. "You are mine," he told her. "I am your master."

"I am yours," she repeated helplessly. "You are my master."

He turned her face toward his. "One day, I shall have a taste of you...but not this day. This day...I have need of you." 

_______ _______ _______

10:44

"If there was one thing to say about our city," the Mayor commented as he and Trick entered the Mayor's office in the Federal Building downtown, "It would be this...There are no dull moments here." As he said this, he realized he had visitors in his office.

There were two men. One was an old man who was blind. He was seated in the Mayor's chair behind his desk. The other was a tall man who could have easily passed for Lurch from the Adam's Family. He was tall, thin and looked like he was about to keel over and die. But looks were deceiving. He was a lot stronger than he looked and just as deadly. He was the blind man's guardian.

The Mayor smiled at Trick and waved his hand toward the unexpected guests. "Do you see what I mean? I love this town." He turned toward his visitors. "Sheldon...you're not trying to tell me that you're going to run for my job, are you? I'm not quite ready to give up my position just yet."

Sheldon Seer smiled warmly. "At my age, dear boy...I couldn't run for anything but a nice warm bed and a pretty little nurse to tuck me in at night."

"You just can't behave, can you?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

The Mayor smiled. "What can I do for you, old friend?"

"Lance and I just came to pay our respect."

Wilkins turned to regard the guardian standing at the old man's right. "Really? Does your friend finally have something to say?" he teased. In all the years he had known them, he had never heard Lance utter one word. He started to believe that the tall giant was unable to speak at all.

Lance groaned at him.

"Right back at you, my friend."

"He doesn't have much to say," Trick replied.

Sheldon snorted. "I don't have him around for casual dinner conversation." His sharp senses picked up on the Mayor's aura. "My dear boy...you have troubles. I may be a blind, old man, but I see everything. And what I have seen could very well jeopardize your plans for Ascension."

The Mayor shook his head. "Ooh, now there is something I did not want to hear."

"But hear it you must. We have much to discuss, you and I." He tilted his head toward Trick. "Alone."

"By alone, you mean you, me...and the big guy." He pointed at Lance.

Sheldon smiled. "Of course."

The Mayor nodded once and turned to Trick. "We'll talk later."

Trick agreed and left the office after a wary glance at the old man and his guardian.

When Trick was gone, the Mayor turned to Sheldon and smiled. "So talk, Sheldon...and tell me what you've seen."

_______ _______ _______

10:45

Something had happened at Willow's house within the past hour. Angel could see that from the shadows just down the street. On the other side of the house, Xander had managed to get close enough to an open window to listen in on what was happening inside. What he had learned was that Willow had been kidnapped by a group of terrorists. They also had a nuclear device in their possession. He had no idea what they wanted with Willow, but as he continued to listen, he realized that Special Agent Jack Bauer was of the opinion that _"the girl's"_ chance of coming back from this alive were very slim.

Xander had managed to get a look into the house. He had seen the Special Agent and he had seen the man's daughter. If he wasn't in soldier mode, he would have simply stared at her and drooled. But he was focused and determined. Perhaps there would be time to create a fantasy about Kim Bauer at another time.

On the street, a couple walked together as if they had decided to take an evening stroll. At least, that was how it seemed. They didn't actually decide to take a stroll. Mulder decided to head off in the direction Angel had gone to see if he could catch up to him and Scully tagged along complaining about it.

"What is your interest in this man, Mulder?" Scully asked. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I'm on vacation, Scully," he told her. "I'm just taking a walk and I don't have to tell you anything."

"You're trying to follow Angel."

Mulder shrugged. "I don't see him anywhere around. Do you?"

"Mulder, you're being evasive."

"What do I have to be evasive about? I'm not trying any skullduggery with you. I'm not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. You do that pretty well without my help." He continued on before she could respond to his accusation. "Angel disappeared just as he appeared. He was there...and then he wasn't. And those three _sick_ individuals we encountered took off when he showed up."

Scully frowned. "Are you suggesting that these... _vampires_ were afraid of Angel? That is what you think they are, isn't it, Mulder? You actually think they're vampires and you think this Angel is some kind of vampire hunter." 

He glanced at her. "Why were they afraid of him? What was wrong with their faces? Don't you want to know?"

She looked concerned. "Maybe it is nothing more than a very serious medical condition. My worry is that it's some kind of outbreak because if that is the case, we need to make some calls and we need to do it before it spreads."

"Oh, I think it's too late for that. It isn't a disease that needs to be contained, _Dr._ Scully. This is about breeding."

Scully let out a sigh. "Mulder..."

Suddenly, he stopped. She stopped with him and looked to see what had peaked his interest. A few houses down from them, there was a dark vehicle and two police cars parked in front of a home. One of the police vehicles emergency lights were flashing. A hearse had backed into the driveway and two men went into the house with a stretcher.

They looked at each other.

"What do you suppose happened there?" Mulder asked her.

"I doubt it has anything to do with vampires," she told him.

Together, they approached the house.

Mulder knocked on the door. A moment later, a blonde haired young woman opened the door. "Can I help you?" Kim asked.

Scully showed Kim her badge. "I'm Special Agent Dana Scully, FBI. This is Mulder."

"We were in the neighborhood," Mulder told the young woman, "and thought we'd drop by."

Kim regarded them curiously. "Do you know the Rosenberg's?"

"No, we don't," Scully explained. "We just saw the police cars out front and wondered if you needed assistance."

Kim frowned. "Wait...Just one moment." She closed the door.

A moment later, the door opened again and a man stood there in the doorway. "What do you want?" he demanded.

"Relax," Mulder said. "We're not selling cookies."

Jack frowned at him.

Scully showed the man her badge. "We're FBI. I'm Special Agent Scully and this is Special Agent Mulder."

Jack looked at Mulder. "Where's your badge?"

"I'm on vacation," Mulder replied as if that explained everything.

"We just wanted to know if everything was alright." Scully put her badge away.

Jack held up a hand. "Wait here." He closed the door as he took out his cell phone. Using the speed dial option, he made a call and when it was answered, he spoke before the person on the other end of the line responded with a greeting. "Chloe, I need you to check something out for me. I've got a couple here claiming to be FBI agents. Their names are Mulder and Scully." He recalled the numbers on Scully's badge and gave them to Chloe. "Check them out and get back to me." He hung up before there was any response and went back into the living room to go over maps of Sunnydale with Frank.

Kim looked out the window. "Did you send them away?"

"They're going to wait until Chloe runs a check on them. I don't care how long that wait is."

She frowned. "Well...if they're legit, then we should welcome their help."

He shrugged. "We'll see."

Out on the porch, Mulder and Scully continued to wait.

_______ _______ _______

10:48

Inside the trunk of the car, which had been her prison for almost an hour, Willow couldn't stop crying. She was terrified, but she was also heartbroken because she thought her parents were dead. Rueben drove as Musad sat comfortably in the passenger seat. In the back seat, there were two other terrorists. Behind them was a second vehicle with four additional soldiers to add to their number.

The vehicles came to a long driveway, which led to an abandoned factory and they began to follow it.

In the trunk, Willow had ceased her futile struggles against the ropes which bound her a while ago as the hopelessness of her plight plunged her into darkness. Beside her was a large, metal box. Inside this box was the nuclear device Musad had stolen to end the world.

_______ _______ _______

10:50

At CTU headquarters, Chloe's fingers darted rapidly across her keyboard and her eyes were intent as they watched the monitor. It didn't take long at all to verify that Dana Scully was in fact a Federal Agent of the FBI assigned to something called _The X-Files._ There was a Fox Mulder as well. She called Jack to give him the information.

Michelle had kept busy as well. She walked down the hall toward the rear exit with Youmud Musad at her side. No one stopped them. If anyone saw them and stopped to confront them, Youmud simply went into their minds and made them believe that he was Tony Almeida. At the door, there was one CTU agent who had a strong mind.

He pulled out his gun and leveled it at Youmud. "Stop right there!"

"What are you doing?" Michelle exclaimed. "That's Tony!"

"The hell it is!" The gun never wavered from its target. "What is wrong with you, Michelle?" He went for his radio.

Before he could get to it, Michelle had closed the distance between them, put a taser to his side and pulled the trigger. Every nerve in the agent's body received a heavy jolt and he immediately lost all muscle control. He collapsed onto the floor with a shocked expression on his face. his gun slipped from his fingers and clattered to the floor.

Youmud smiled at Michelle.

She stood rigidly at attention. She felt trapped inside her own mind. She did not understand the control this monster had over her, but she could not disobey him. He stood in front of her, staring into her eyes. He smiled...and his lips did not move but she heard his voice clearly in her head.

 _You belong to me,_ his voice declared. _I own you, my pet._

She swallowed, her eyes wide. She answered back, but her lips also did not move. _I...I am yours...my Ma-Master._

 _Your services to me will always be rewarded, my pet,_ he told her. _But never disobey my commands or you will be severely punished._ With his mind, he showed her dark horrors inside her own mind.

She was so terrified, she could not move. Her eyes were open wide. They saw much suffering and torment at the hands of her master. _Please..._ she pleaded. _I-I will do everything you command me._

_I know you will._

Youmud stepped back away from her. He looked down at the man on the floor. The agent glared up at him. Smiling, Youmud reached down and twisted the man's head, snapping it like a twig. The agent could not have stopped him even if he was able to fight back. Within a split second, he was dead.

Youmud smiled at Michelle, walked around her and opened the door. Then, he was gone. He was gone and Michelle could only stand there wondering what monster had just been unleashed into the world.

_______ _______ _______

10:59

The night continued on. At an abandoned factory, several terrorists met around two vehicles. Eight - including Rueben and Darwyn - had arrived and inside the factory, others waited. Darwyn had an army of soldiers at his disposal because he intended to use them to reach his goal. He and Rueben made plans with some of the men by the car where Willow lay trapped inside the trunk. She heard every word and feared not only for her life but also for the lives of everyone in Sunnydale. Finally, the trunk swung open and Rueben reached in to drag her out.

At another abandoned factory across town, Spike - who had cleaned himself up - stood on top of a balcony overlooking the city. The bright lights of Sunnydale had always had a calming affect on him. But not this time. He was bothered by Dru's cryptic rants. Over the years, he had come to expect trouble whenever a premonition came to her. He knew something was coming...he just had no idea what it was.

At the Federal Building downtown, in the Mayor's office, the Mayor and Sheldon continued to have a friendly conversation as the guardian stood silently by. The Mayor still puzzled over the real purpose of Sheldon's mysterious visit while Mr. Trick was out on the street gathering intel on the coming storm.

Angel had seen enough at the Rosenberg household. He was going to leave and follow a lead of his own when he noticed Buffy coming up the walkway of the Rosenberg Residence. He watched as she joined the FBI agents on the front porch. He wanted to stay put to be there for her if she needed him, but decided there was another option. Someone out there in Sunnydale might know what had happened to Willow and where she had been taken to. Spike might know something. If he did, Angel intended to find out what it was.

Inside the house, Jack had hung up from Chloe and was heading toward the front door. Kim was with the Rosenberg's as Frank and one of his men were going over the map. They were checking the locations of the abandoned factories on the map. Three other officers were in the house, taking up positions in key rooms in the event the terrorists came back. Two men had loaded one of the bodies into the hearse and they were in the process of retrieving the second body.

At CTU, Chloe had been at her computer, hard at work using the internet highway to gather information. She had a link with Willow Rosenberg's computer and was going through her files. If there was a link in there that led to answers, she would find them. While her computer was scanning for information, she decided to go check up on Tony and Michelle's progress. The only thing she found, however, was no sign of Michelle and Tony was on the floor in the interrogation room, unconscious. Meanwhile, Michelle stood beside the body of a dead agent with the door to the rear exit wide open. There was no sign of Youmud out there as far as she could see, but she was still aware of him in her mind.

At the High School in Sunnydale, Giles arrived at the library to do some research, but he wasn't alone. Jenny Calendar, a school teacher for computer science, arrived with him. In fact, they had both come from Giles' home...and it was something they wanted to keep for themselves. It was why Giles had refused entrance to his home to Buffy. They met with Cordelia Chase already in the library who began to complain the second she saw them about doing any research.

Xander had seen enough at the Rosenberg's. He had headed home and now he stood silently in his bedroom. His thoughts were full of worry for his best friend Willow. Which meant the Xander Harris everyone knew had to be put aside so he could become the Xander Harris, the Soldier. That Halloween night where a spell had transformed him into a soldier had changed his life forever and he had kept it a secret. He had retained everything about being a soldier in every way. And in retaining everything, Xander had become the Soldier.

No one knew his secret

The baggy shirt he always favored hid the six-pack abs as he took it off and tossed it onto the bed. He pushed aside his bed and pulled up the carpet to reveal a hidden trap door. He pulled it open to reveal a hidden cache of weapons and gear. He put on black clothes and a black head wrap to hide his face. He gathered the weapons he needed...weapons he had collected in a period of several weeks. Once he had what he needed, he closed the trap door, rolled the carpet back down and moved his bed back over it. Then, he slipped out into the night to begin his search for Willow.

10:59:57

10:59:58

10:59:59

**11:00 PM**


	4. 11:00 PM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't go 'round tonight. It's bound to take your life. There's a bad moon on the rise." -John C Fogerty
> 
> Bad Moon Rising - Credence Clearwater Revival

10:59:57

10:59:58

10:59:59

**11:00 PM**

****

****

It was all about connections. Jack Bauer knew about connections. Every clue, every piece of the puzzle, had to be scrutinized as if under a microscope. One thread led to another. SafeLite Industries. Wayne Jones, SafeLite's head of security. Darwyn Musad. A nuclear device. Sunnydale. The Hellmouth. They were all connected in some way and during the past few hours, there was gathering evidence, which led to more pieces of the puzzle. What else could be revealed beneath the surface as the investigation proceeded?

Mayor Wilkins was well aware of how important it was that connections worked. Connections were what would make the Ascension a reality. If any of those connections were broken, the Ascension would be disrupted. That was unacceptable. With Sheldon Seer's visit, the Mayor realized his plans could be inevitably brought to a screeching halt.

At CTU, an alarm had been triggered when Chloe found Tony unconscious in the interrogation room. Other agents were assisting Michelle, who was claiming to have been overpowered by Youmud Musad. The man had escaped after taking the life of one of their agents. A manhunt was now under way for Youmud Musad.

Unlike the CTU agents, Buffy was never too concerned about connections. She was more of a hands on, in the now kind of person. The direct approach. And she intended to do that very soon as she noticed a couple in front of Willow's house. The front door was open and standing in the doorway was a man she had never seen before. Why was a stranger opening the front door of the Rosenberg home as if he belonged there?

As Buffy headed for a confrontation, Xander was on the prowl in full soldier mode. He had a target and intended to follow it to see where it led. That target was Angel. Angel was leading him on the outskirts of Sunnydale, toward one of the abandoned factories where Spike, Dru and their minions had established their hideout.

The clock was ticking...For Willow, it was ticking toward her doom. Rueben picked her up out of the trunk and put her over his shoulder. He then followed Darwyn into the dark interior of an abandoned factory his men had previously taken over as their temporary encampment. In Sunnydale, Giles, Jenny and Cordelia were about to get ready for research...Unfortunately, they weren't quite certain what they were researching. However, they were unaware of Willow's kidnapping...but Buffy was just about to find out.

_______ _______ _______

**11:00**

Buffy stepped onto the front step and gave the three strangers her best winning smile. "Hi. I'm Buffy. And you are...?"

"I'm Fox Mulder." He looked at Buffy curiously. "This is Dana Scully and Jack Bauer."

"Well, gee, isn't that nice? Isn't it a little late to be selling Tupperware?"

Jack came back with some sarcasm of his own. "Do you see any Tupperware?"

"No, I don't. But I see strangers at my best friend's house and police cars in the driveway." She tried to ease up on her hostility. "Who are you people? Did something happen here?"

"Yes, something did happen," Jack confirmed her suspicions. He paused, considering what he was going to tell her. Finally, he said, "I'm a Special Agent of CTU, and these two are Special Agents of the FBI."

"FBI?!" Buffy exclaimed. "What is CTU? Most importantly...what the hell happened here? Are Willow and her parents okay?"

"Her parents are fine." Jack hesitated. "Willow, however, has been kidnapped."

Buffy stared at him, incredulous. "What?"

"We're doing everything we can to get her back safely, but we don't know why she was taken. Maybe you could shed some light onto that."

"With what? My handy, dandy Scooby-Doo flashlight? When did this happen? I was with her a little over an hour ago. We walked her home! She was safe!"

"Who's _we_?" Dana inquired.

Buffy turned to her. "Xander and I...Xander. He's a friend. We walked her home."

Dana looked at her sternly. "Do you kids usually hang out late at night like this? Do your parents even know where you are?"

Buffy gave her a look. "Hey! That is none of your business. You just told me Willow's been kidnapped! I don't need the third degree from you or anyone else."

Before Dana could respond, Mulder said, "Don't pay attention to her, Buffy. She's just uptight and needs a vacation. What you do after hours is none of our business and it's certainly not the crisis we seem to be facing. Your friend is missing. She should be our only priority."

Dana gave him the look. Buffy smiled at him. "Thank you, Mr. Mulder."

"About that," Jack began as he turned to focus on the FBI agents. "You're on some type of leave, Mr. Mulder."

"Vacation," Mulder corrected him.

"A vacation you didn't have any choice in taking. I looked into the both of you. Let me start out by telling you that you won't find an X-File anywhere in this town. A child has been kidnapped. We need to find her. If you are offering assistance in this matter, I will accept it. You don't have your badge...but you should be armed. I'll see if I can get you a weapon."

"Can I get a gun?" Buffy asked sincerely.

Jack just gave her a look without saying anything.

Buffy managed to look disappointed. "Just asking."

"What I would like you to do is talk to your friend's parents. I'll send my..." He almost said _daughter_ but stopped himself. "...associate in to speak to you afterward. Her name is Kim. Maybe the two of you can come up with why Willow was kidnapped." He turned to the FBI agents. "In the meantime, I'll debrief you on everything I have."

"I need to make a quick phone call," Buffy replied as they all headed into the house. When she saw the stern look on Jack's face, she said, "I'm expected by friends at the library and they don't know what's going on. I'd like to tell them--"

"Which library is this?" Dana interrupted.

Buffy frowned. "The library at my school. Why is that important?"

"Just keeping track about how the kids in this town behave. I must admit, I never would have known kids in Sunnydale to be outside late at night to meet at the school library. Doesn't Sunnydale have a curfew?"

Buffy glared at her. "What Is your deal?"

"Most kids stay out late at night to cause trouble. Are you telling me that you and your friends stay out after dark to actually meet in a library to study?"

Buffy thought about the hours of research she and the Scoobies had done since she had arrived at Sunnydale a few years ago. She nodded. "Not that this is any of your business, but, yes, my friends and I spend an awful lot of time studying in the library. It's like Willow says...The library is where all the books live, so it makes it the best place to spend our time after dark." She waved a fist in the air. "We really want to do well in school and keep up our grades."

Jack looked at Dana. "Can you stop with this witch hunt you seem to be on? I don't know why it bothers you so much about kids being outside after dark. You'll find that in every town. We're not after kids. The people we want are a hell of a lot more dangerous than kids breaking a curfew. Once I debrief you, you'll see that. As for a phone call..." He turned to Buffy. "The less who know about what happened to your friend increases our chances of finding Willow. The more who know will only slow our progress."

Buffy frowned. "But my friends are expecting both of us."

Mulder glanced at Dana and noticed she was pursing her lips tightly. She wanted to say something else about late night hours but she managed to keep her mouth shut. Mulder smiled inwardly. He was so proud of her.

"No calls," Jack said sternly. "Go see your friend's parents. I'll have Kim go in to meet with you."

Buffy stood her ground for a moment but she saw he wasn't going to budge. Finally, she let out a sigh and headed further into the house. When she was gone from view, Jack turned to the FBI agents. "This isn't just about a kidnapping," he told them. "We know who took Willow Rosenberg. The problem is the people who took her have a nuclear device, which they intend to activate somewhere in this city."

Mulder and Dana stared at him, dumbfounded. Mulder came to Sunnydale looking for an X-File. Instead, he discovered that he just may have walked into the end of the world as he knew it.

_______ _______ _______

11:06 PM

Willow's life was over. It may as well be the case. Her parents were dead. She knew this in her heart because of the last impression she had before the door had slammed down on her while she was in the trunk. It was imprinted on her mind. Her parents had been forced on the floor and two men were preparing to shoot them. She hadn't witnessed the murder of her parents. But she knew Buffy was not there to save them. No one was. It was too late for them. It was too late for her. She could do nothing but cry to herself as she was manhandled from the trunk of the car and tossed onto the floor of a small cube-like, windowless room.

After Rueben had tossed her onto the floor, he stood over her and stared down at her. He didn't move from the doorway. He was as still as a statue. From her position on the floor, all Willow could see was a dark silhouette of a man in the doorway. She couldn't see his face, but she knew his eyes were boring right into her soul. It made her feel ashamed. It terrified her to the core. She didn't know how long this went on, but it felt like an eternity. Eventually, someone called Rueben away and he slammed the door shut, locking it. In the darkness, Willow curled herself into a ball and wept for her parents.

_______ _______ _______

11:09 PM

"Dolt, I need to know what _He who was but is no more_ means along with all of that other gibberish Dru has been going on about." Spike made this demand without announcing he had just entered the massive room, where Dalton had his face pressed into the studies he had been provided with. As a result, the minion was so startled, he jerked up in his seat, spilling several notes and books onto the floor. Spike stopped at the opposite end of the table and looked at him with as much patience as he could muster....which wasn't a lot. "Having a problem?"

Dalton reached for the notes and books on the floor. "No-no, sir. No problem."

"Can you look into what I just asked you to? Or do I have to rip your face off?"

"I'll look into it, I swear it." He sat up with the books and papers in his hands. "Please, don't rip my face off."

Spike sighed. "Is this project going to take as long as the other project I have you on is taking?"

"Well...research takes time. It...it can't be rushed. You really don't want to miss something important, especially if it's a spell. Getting the research wrong could make a spell backfire with disastrous results."

"Leave the spell for another time. Right now, something is going on and I want to know what it is. _That_ is your new number one priority. Dru is speaking in cryptic under tones, which means she's not making any sense. When she looks at me..." He stopped. He paused deep in thought. Then, he continued, "...she isn't really looking at me. She's focused on something else, my sweet pet is. Her eyes see something else, and my gut is telling me that whatever this _something else_ is, it's coming very soon." He turned around as if to leave the room. "Never a fortune teller around when you need one, is there?"

Dalton perked up. "Oh, there's a fortune teller in town."

Spike stopped in his tracks. Slowly, he turned his head. "What did you say?"

Dalton hesitated. "Uhm, there's a...there's a fortune teller in town." He paused. "Actually, he lives on the outskirts of Sunnydale. East side. He's got a really big mansion." He smiled. "Nice guy. He lets me take his books and always has more when I return them." He frowned when he noticed the way Spike was glaring at him. "Uhm...many of the books I use for research are from him."

Spike slowly walked toward him. "This fortune teller...how accurate is he?"

Dalron hesitated again. "Uhm...well, he is..."

Spike stopped right at the edge of the table and he glared down at Dalton. "He. Is. What?"

Dalton swallowed. "He's currently advising the Mayor on his current affairs."

"A fortune teller in Sunnydale. Friends with the Mayor, is he?" He leaned toward Dalton in the most menacing way he could. "Why was I never told about this?"

Dalton swallowed again. His throat was suddenly extremely dry. "Ah...I-I...I didn't think you needed to know?"

Spike tilted his head. "Are you asking or telling me this?"

Dalton paused. "Telling...?"

Spike grabbed the dolt by the back of the head and slammed his face into the table. The books and notes spilled onto the floor again, some of them wet with blood. "I need to know everything, you dolt! Who do you think I am? You think you can keep something as important as this from me and not face the consequences?" He stepped back, because he knew if he didn't, he was most likely going to kill the minion. Out of all of his minions, he needed Dalton the most...though he would never admit that out loud. To anyone. Not even Dru. "Who is this fortune teller?" Spike demanded.

Dalton sat up, cringing as he readjusted his glasses and pressed a tissue against his bloody nose...which he felt was broken. "Shel-Sheldon Seer."

"Well, Dolt...Clean yourself up. I think it's time you make a request for another book."

_______ _______ _______

11:12 PM

Being a fortune teller and old came with certain privileges. One of those privileges was that Sheldon loved to have his small talk. While the Mayor patiently waited for the older gentleman to get to the point of his visit, he played at being the gracious host. He offered a drink to his guests, which Sheldon had accepted a Brandy on the rocks and Lance...just stood there, not saying a word. He didn't move either. Just stood there as still as stone as Sheldon chatted away about things that had nothing to do with the Ascension. He was a fortune teller, after all. He knew what was coming so perhaps he felt he had plenty of time to waste before his visions came true.

Mayor Wilkins was no stranger to patience. He knew if you wanted to achieve something bad enough, it was always going to take time. It was going to take preparation. So he was experienced to know about patience. It helped to know Sheldon not only as a confidant but also as a friend, so the Mayor was quite familiar with the man's mannerisms and habits. If Sheldon wanted small talk, the Mayor would graciously give him small talk. About the weather. About friendship. About what was happening in the world. Even about the latest trends. Whatever the man wanted to talk about, that was fine with the Mayor. He knew eventually, they would get to the matter at hand any time now.

Even as the small talk began, a familiar sound could be heard. As Sheldon was blind, he was especially attuned to sound. What he was hearing made him stop talking and a smile of pleasure crossed his face. He dearly loved the sound of rain.

The Mayor stepped over to the window and looked out to watch the rain begin to fall. After several seconds, it seemed to increase into a hard downpour. He didn't envy anyone who had to be out in the rain at this moment. "There it is, Sheldon," he said softly, smiling at his friend. "You've told me often enough. This is music to your ears."

Sheldon let out a laugh. "It is an orchestra, my dear old friend. A natural band playing a tune of nature's song. I am so pleased to hear it one more time." His thoughts seemed to take him out of the present for a moment.

Mayor Wilkins suspected that perhaps he was having another vision. He waited it out.

Sheldon suddenly straightened and turned to face the Mayor. His demeanor had changed. He was about to get to the matter he came for. "There is a fork in the road," he said.

The Mayor turned away from the window. What he just heard was quite ominous indeed. This did not bode well for Ascension day, he feared. "A fork, you say," he said softly. "I take it that...as far as prophecy goes, this is not good news."

"Prophecy," Sheldon said with a snort. "That is just a word, my friend. What I see is not prophecy but events that can take place _if_ certain key individuals follow the path to its proper end. This is why it is important that no matter what, you must stay your course."

"Sound advice." The Mayor glanced at the still unmoving guardian and headed toward his private bar. He poured himself a second drink. "But this fork you mentioned. You sound as if it is something to be concerned about. Does this fork threaten the Ascension?"

"It does."

The Mayor shook his head. "Now that is something I didn't want to hear." He took a drink and leaned back against his desk. "Tell me about it."

Sheldon became uncharacteristically silent for a moment. He let out a sigh and frowned. "The road to Ascension reaches a fork that wasn't there before. Whatever the reason, this fork presents to separate paths. One leads to what should be. The Ascension. The other leads...to a darkness that will swallow this world whole and all who reside upon it."

"Does this have anything to do with what's happening here tonight?"

The old man shook his head. "It does not. The men who have taken the innocent child - Willow Rosenberg - this nuclear device they have...Insignificant. That path has no ending, nor does it have a beginning. It simply does not exist."

The Mayor placed his empty glass onto a coaster on his desk. "You mean you can't see it."

"It does not exist," he emphasized. "Your path to Ascension and the path to utter darkness are the only two visible paths that matter and what happens at the fork will determine which path will be taken."

"What exactly do you see on this path of darkness?"

"I see a darkness so black that my third sight cannot penetrate it. I see a dark figure who stands at the fork in front of this path. I see him...but not his face or his features...yet there is something familiar about him. In the sky above him are three moons. These are the things I see. The rest...is unclear."

"But there is more?"

Sheldon nodded. He didn't say any more.

"What is the significance of the three moons?"

"I...do not know."

The Mayor regarded him. "That bothers you."

"More than you can know." He suddenly smiled. "But stay your course, my friend. Be ever watchful. Be vigilant. We have not yet arrived at this fork. There is still time to prevent the path that will take you away from your rightful Ascension." He turned slightly toward his guardian. "And now, Lance, my friend...I grow weary. My time is...short." He paused. "A ride home with the rain hitting the rooftop above my head...As you have said, music to my ears." He smiled fondly.

"Goodnight, my old friend," the Mayor said as he escorted the two visitors to the door. "Until our next meeting."

When the door closed behind them, Lance led Sheldon toward the exit of the Federal Building. As they shuffled along, Sheldon responded sadly to the last thing the Mayor had said to him. "Alas, my dearest friend...but this road has reached its end. There will be no further meeting after this night."

_______ _______ _______

11:16 PM

Tony opened his eyes and sat up quickly, startled from what he had experienced moments before the hour. Disorientation had set in as he tried to get out of the bed he was in, but someone was trying to stop him. Two medics were trying to push him back down, but he wouldn't have it. He shoved their hands aside and got to his feet. A wave of dizziness almost brought him back down, but he fought it off and headed for the door. "Where's Musad?" he demanded.

No one responded to his demand. One of the medics, however, replied with, "Agent Almeida, please...You need to get back in bed. You have a slight concussion and are in no condition to be up."

Tony ignored him and stepped out of the medic bay and into the hall. He turned and almost knocked over Chloe. She put her hands up defensively. "Hey, watch it, Tony." She let out a sigh of irritation. "You don't have to run me over. I was just coming to check up on you.:"

"What the hell is going on, Chloe? Where's Michelle? Where's Musad? We have to put CTU on lockdown until we can get that son of a bitch back in custody."

"That _son of a bitch_ has already escaped, Tony. Michelle...well, she's in interrogation waiting to be questioned."

Tony stopped moving and looked at her in surprise.. "What? Why is Michelle in interrogation?"

Behind him, the two medics approached. They were about to interrupt, but Chloe gave them a look that stopped them in their tracks. They decided not to press the issue, turned around and went back into the med bay. Chloe focused on Tony. "I saw the security video. It rose a lot of suspicions about Michelle. Tony, she tased one of our own agents and Youmud Musad snapped his neck. It's all on video...and I'm not the only one who saw the footage."

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing. His head was still throbbing from what had happened to him and he tried to process what Chloe was saying. "Michelle had to have been under duress. Musad is a killer. You can't seriously believe Michelle would willingly help him escape."

Chloe let out a sigh of frustration. "No, of course not, Tony...but Ford Harrison is convinced that Michelle is a traitor and he wants to hang her for it."

He frowned. Since he regained consciousness, it was just one big surprise right after another. Ford Harrison was one of the top best CTU agents known to everyone from a recruit to a seasoned agent. Ford had a huge reputation that was untarnished. He had moved up the ranks until he settled firmly in a penthouse office right next to the White House where it has been said he has had dinner on several occasions with the President of the United States. If there was ever to be a Heavy Hitter in the agency of the CTU, it would be Ford Harrison.

Tony swallowed. His throat was dry. "Harrison is on his way here?"

Chloe looked at him as if he hadn't heard a word she said. "I said he looked at the security video, Tony. He's already here."

"Is he interrogating Michelle right now?"

"No. He's coordinating the manhunt for Musad, but he intends to interrogate Michelle within the hour."

Tony turned around and headed down the hall. "We have to get to Michelle first."

Reluctantly, Chloe followed after him. "Tony, Ford isn't going to like you barging into interrogation to speak with Michelle. He's placed guards in front of the door with strict orders to keep everyone out but himself."

"Was my clearance level taken away from me while I was unconscious?"

"No, Tony, but--"

"So I'm still running this branch of CTU here in LA in Jack's absence," he stated as a matter of fact.

"Yes. But just because you're run--"

"Then, I'll get in there. You're going to do something else for me."

She narrowed her eyes and looked at him suspiciously. "What?"

"Keep Ford Harrison away from interrogation."

_______ _______ _______

11:20 PM

There were books on the table at the Sunnydale High School's library, but these were not the type of books students used to study the subjects taught to them. They were quite different. If Principal Snyder had any idea there were such books on school property, he would not be a happy man. It was fortunate he didn't know because Giles needed these types of books for research to help the Slayer battle with the enemy. Snyder could very well have the books removed. Or at least, the little man would try to have them removed. Giles wasn't about to sit by and let his books be carried off without a fight. Books on Demonology, the Occult, Vampire Lore and Spellcasting may not have been required reading for the students at Sunnydale High, but they were definitely required for him and the Scoobies.

There were a pile of books on the table and he and Jenny were going through them. They didn't know what they were looking for as Buffy's message from Angel wasn't forthcoming with a lot of detail. It was just a cryptic message. Without knowing any more detail than a bad moon rising, they had nothing to go on. Most of the books Giles had gave a reference to a bad moon, or a full moon. Thus far, neither he nor Jenny found anything more detailed than that.

The library door opened. Both Jenny and Giles turned to see who it was.

Cordelia strode in with two bags of snacks. "Who ordered this rain? It's raining cats and dogs and I'm soaking wet!" She placed the bags on the table, pushing several books aside and earning a look of shock from Giles. "What? Well, your books are taking up all the space on the table."

Giles frowned at her. He moved some of the books back to where he thought they belonged. "I don't understand your ridiculous question." He peered at the pages of the book he was looking through.

Cordelia straightened and glared at him. "I don't ask _ridiculous_ questions."

"You asked if-if someone actually placed a call to some company and ordered a bout of rain to be delivered. Or at least, your question implies the notion of placing an order. _That_ is what is ridiculous. And-and another thing, it cannot rain _cats_ or...or _dogs_. That's just as absurd as making a call to place an order for it. However, it can rain toads. After all, that has happened once before"

She made a face. "Ew. Well, thank goodness, it isn't raining toads. But it is raining very hard. If it keeps up, we might just find ourselves right in a hurricane."

Giles leaned forward as a thought struck him. "Hurricane!" he exclaimed. He suddenly recalled his brief conversation with Buffy about Angel's cryptic message and the phrase from a song he rather enjoyed.

Jenny and Cordelia turned to look at Giles curiously. Jenny realized what conclusions he was coming to. " _Bad moon rising_ ," she said, nodding slightly. "You're thinking this prophecy we need to look into might have to do with a blast from the past after all."

Cordelia turned to her. " _A blast from the past_?"

"Woodstock. Creedence Clearwater Revival. _Bad Moon Rising_." She winked at Giles. "Great tune."

Giles rose to his feet and headed for the stacks. He was on the hunt for another book. He disappeared from view within the stacks. "Yes...it's a song and I-I thought it had no relevance to whatever it is Angel feels is...is coming."

"But now? Have you actually payed any attention to the lyrics? It's a great song about the end of the world. About earthquakes, lightning and bad times. Talks about hurricane's blowing. There's also something about the voice of rage and ruin. All of that in a song called _Bad Moon Rising_ , and now it seems pretty relevant to me."

Giles stepped back out from the stacks with a book in his hand and a thoughtful frown on his face. "Yes, I see what you mean. Now that you mention it...it does seem very relevant indeed."

"Great," Cordelia retorted. "So...what now? We start singing?"

They turned to look at her.

She rolled her eyes. "If you've got the lyrics to this song, do we still need to look through all these books?"

Giles placed the book on the table. "No, Cordelia. I don't believe we need to research through all of these books. I should have thought about the lyrics myself, but at the time...it-it never occurred to me there could be a connection." He straightened. "Mind you, the lyrics themselves does not give us the answer to what we seek...However, it could narrow down the research somewhat."

Jenny pushed the book away from her she had been researching through. "You know what I find disturbing? The song mentions a hurricane blowing, right?"

Giles nodded once. "Yes, it does."

"Well, I'd like an answer to something. Where the hell did this storm come from?"

Outside, the rain seemed to fall harder, the wind blew fiercer and lightning crashed as thunder sounded across the darkened skies.

_______ _______ _______

11:26 PM

The storm was intense and it did seem to come from nowhere. It was also getting worst. Yet with the storm, something else had come to Sunnydale. Three hulking vampires had come to Sunnydale with a solitary purpose. They walked in the streets that were clear of traffic due to the storm. Looking at them, one might have suspected that a team of wrestlers had come to town but nothing could be further from the truth. With a purpose, they had a destination in mind and the storm did not slow them down from it. They headed toward it without slowing down. They would get there at all cost because they had something that someone very important needed. The middle vampire had a backpack on his back and it would be delivered. Nothing would stop them from their task.

_______ _______ _______

11:27 PM

The storm had a strong negative effect upon Xander as the young man in black continued to follow Angel throughout Sunnydale. It was pissing him off. Soldier-like or not, it was becoming nearly impossible to keep up with the vampire with a soul. It would have helped him greatly if he had an ideal where Angel was going. Unfortunately, Angel was his only lead as to where Willow could have been taken. As he continued to follow him, Xander began to realize the vampire may have been heading toward an old factory where Spike and his minions resided. He decided he could get there faster now that he had an idea. He turned to pick out a different route when he realized he had no clear view of Angel any more.

He stopped and looked around, trying to locate the tall man, but the storm was not helping. And he was soaking wet. Blaming the weather, he decided to press on anyway. He took a step and heard a voice from behind him.

"Do you want to tell me who you are and why you're following me?"

Xander turned around but remained silent. After all, he was wearing a black head wrap so his face was not revealed. He faced Angel and waited. Vampire with a soul or not, he still could not see why Buffy would not do her job and slay him. He was still a vampire. He tensed. Maybe it was the storm, but he really wanted to put an end to Angel once and for all.

Angel regarded the man in black before him. "Not talking?" He paused. "Fine. I can do all the talking. I don't know who you are, but--"

Xander suddenly moved. He feinted to the right and toward the woods as if he was trying to get away. Just as he expected, Angel moved forward with the intent to grab him. At the last second, Xander spun into him, slamming his right knee hard into Angel's side. The blow was unexpected and caught Angel by surprise. Before he could react, Xander continued his attack by flipping his opponent over him. Angel found himself in the air where he eventually landed hard on his back. As he tried to recover, Xander pressed his attack and snap-kicked him right in the face. Angel's head snapped back and put him on the ground again.

Now the vampire was angry. To prove it, he rolled away from his opponent and got to his feet, his vampire game face on. However, when he turned to face the mysterious man in black, there was no one there. Frowning, Angel tried to find his attacker but there was no sign of him.

In the woods, out of sight and using the darkness to hide in, Xander watched Angel. It really was unfortunate he couldn't take the time to kill him now when he was so close. He took a deep breath and centered his thoughts. He had to keep his mission a priority. Willow was his mission. Nothing else mattered. He had to find Willow at all costs. Then, after he found her and she was safe, maybe there would be plenty of time to take Angel out once and for all. He used the storm and the darkness to cover his retreat.

\------- ------- -------

11:30 PM

Buffy was angry enough to punch a hole into the nearest wall, but because she was inside her best friend's house, she refrained from doing it. After all, it was the thought that counted. What she really should do as she thought about it was give that Jack Bauer a thrashing. He hadn't shared the entire story with her about what had happened at the Rosenberg Residence over an hour ago. He left a lot out. What he had kept from her was told to her by Willow's parents.

Willow had been kidnapped by terrorists who were armed with a nuclear device! Now that was something which should have been included in the memo. She wanted to grab that lying son-of-a-bitch but as she turned to head out of the room, she saw a different target. The blonde-haired girl who Jack sent in to keep an eye on Buffy and the Rosenberg's...She was standing there against the wall watching everything.

Buffy rounded on her "You people lied to me about what's going on here! My friend is in more danger than you led me to believe and I do _not_ take kindly to that." There was an ominous threat in her tone.

Kim picked up on it and raised her hands in defense. "Buffy, I did not lie to you."

"No. Your partner did. And I bought it. Did he really think Willow's parent's weren't going to say anything about it?"

On the sofa with his wife, Ira rose to his feet. "We wouldn't do that. Buffy, we don't say much about things in this town, but we're not stupid. There's evil here and somehow, you, Willow...and your friends are doing something to keep it at bay. It's why we aren't strict about curfew with Willow." He stepped toward her. "We told you everything that happened to us and everything we heard because we know our best chance in getting our daughter back...is you."

Buffy couldn't help it. She didn't know what to say to that. She swallowed a lump in her throat.

Ira stood in front of her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Jack Bauer is a man who will do whatever it takes to accomplish his mission. I'm not saying he's a bad man." He looked at Kim when he said that. "He's just a man focused on one single goal. You, Buffy...your goal has always been your friends and the people you care about. It's why you do what you do. That's why Sheila and I know you'll find Willow and bring her back to us. That's why you should leave now before Bauer prevents you from leaving."

Buffy nodded once. She turned her head and looked at Kim.

Kim hesitated. "My dad doesn't know Willow, Buffy. I do. I may not know you personally, but Willow and her parents trust you. So I trust you, too."

"You're not going to try and stop me?" Buffy inquired. "Wait. What? Your dad?" Her eyes widened. "Jack Bauer is your father?"

"Yes," Kim responded.

Buffy turned to Ira and Sheila. "Do you guys know each other?"

Ira nodded. "We knew Terri, Jack's wife, and Kim. Family friends for a long time now. We've only met Jack a few times. You may not have noticed, but he's not exactly chummy."

"Oh, I've noticed," she assured them. She made eye contact with Ira and then Shiela. "I don't care what Jack Bauer does. I _will_ find Willow and bring her home. I promise."

Kim and Buffy headed together through the kitchen. They stopped once and heard voices coming from the other room. Mulder, Scully and Jack were in a conversation. Occasionally another voice would join in. That was Sheriff Frank Burns. The two young women continued on to the back door. Buffy opened the door and stopped in the doorway. A torrential downpour was falling hard and she knew in a matter of seconds, she was going to be soaked to the bone.

Kim stared at it in wonder. "Does it always rain this hard in Sunnydale?"

"Not like this." Buffy paused. Something wasn't right about the weather, but she didn't know what it was. "This is not normal."

Kim looked at her. "I talked to Willow last summer. On the phone. We talked about you."

Buffy regarded her. "Really?"

"She said you were special. That you were a real hero." She paused. "She called you the Slayer."

"Really? Gosh, what did she ever mean by that, I wonder?"

Kim smiled at her. "I think you know exactly what she means." She looked outside. "Be careful out there, Buffy."

"Be careful in here. Your dad is going to be pissed." Without another word, Buffy went outside into the pouring rain and the door was closed behind her.

_______ _______ _______

11:37 PM

Mulder looked at the maps spread out on the table in the dining room. He and Scully had been fully debriefed on what was happening and what was at stake, but even so, he was one hundred percent certain Jack was keeping something to himself. Things were pretty dire in Sunnydale with terrorists on the loose with a nuclear device and a kidnapped child, but there was still something else going on. Mulder was certain of that. Scully, on the other hand, was totally on board with it. She was just happy they hadn't run into an X-File.

Something was off about Sheriff Frank Burns, Mulder was sure of it. There was just something about him he didn't trust. He decided not to share that with anyone, at least until he knew more about the man.

"So your plan is to check out these abandoned factories," Mulder said, indicating the red circles on the map. "Just go in there and see if they're being used as hideouts for the terrorists."

Jack nodded his head as Frank left the room. "It's simple, really. There are three of them on the west side and a quarry on the east. I'll take this one -" He pointed at one of the red circles on the west side. "-you and Scully take this one-" He pointed at the middle one. "-and Sheriff Burns will take the third one. If they check out as empty, we'll all go to the quarry. If the terrorists are trying to stay out of sight, they're bound to be at one of these sites."

"What if they aren't empty?" Scully wanted to know.

Jack turned to her. "I want you to back off and contact me the second you see anything suspicious. Our first priority is surveillance. If anyone is there, don't let them see you. We'll regroup and plan our next move."

Scully frowned. "You want us to drive up to this factory and search it for terrorists. You do realize we'll have to park a safe distance away and approach on foot, don't you?"

Jack gave her a look "Yeah, well, this job does require a lot of footwork, Agent Scully."

She pointed at the ceiling. "Do you hear that? Have you looked out a window? It's pouring out there! The weather is taking a turn for the worst and you want us to go right out there."

"This kind of weather isn't going to stop terrorists from taking lives. It's not going to stop me from doing what I have to do either."

Frank came back into the dining room with Kim following behind him. "Jack, we have a problem."

Jack glanced at his daughter suspiciously. "What happened?"

"It appears that Miss Summers has decided to leave," Frank reported. "According to your daughter, she left out the back door several minutes ago."

Jack turned to face his daughter. "Kim, what did you tell her?"

"I didn't actually tell her anything," Kim replied. "The Rosenberg's told her everything that happened. About the terrorists, the device....everything. Once she had the truth, she bolted and there was no way I would have been able to stop her."

Jack snorted. "So you let her go."

"Buffy didn't do anything wrong. There's no reason to keep her here."

"You should have stopped her." He turned to Mulder and Scully. "I need one of you to go get her and bring her back. We can't afford to have her spreading panic throughout Sunnydale. If word gets out about a nuclear device, panic will spread like wild fire."

Mulder shrugged. "I'll find her."

"Why you?" Scully wanted to know, not liking the idea about going to an abandoned factory alone on a dark and stormy night. "Why not me?"

"That's easy to answer, Scully. Buffy doesn't like you. I'm sure you can get her cooperation with your winning personality, but then again...I really don't think so. I'll go find her."

"You don't even know where she's going?"

"There was mention of a library at Sunnydale High. I'll start there."

Jack backed away from the table. "Alright, that's enough talk. Time is wasting. Let's get this done." He glared at Kim. "You stay here with the Sheriff's men and keep the Rosenberg's safe. Can I count on you to do that?"

Kim held back a harsh response. "Yes. I can do that."

He looked at her as if he doubted her word. "I hope so," He turned abruptly from her and headed for the door. The others followed behind, and once they were out in the rain, they went off in different directions. Jack left in his rental. Frank took his police car. Scully and Mulder got into the second police car that was loaned to them. Scully was driving. She was going to take Mulder to the school's library before she headed for her assigned location.

As she pulled out of the driveway, Mulder let out a chuckle. "Look, Scully. You get to turn on the sirens and speed through town. You're cruising now."

"Keep it up, Mulder," Dana replied through gritted teeth, "and I'll show you who's cruising."

_______ _______ _______

11:40 PM


End file.
